


Lazy

by JLaLa



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Complete
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-14
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2017-12-26 12:57:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 59,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/966186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JLaLa/pseuds/JLaLa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Effie always thought he was lazy. But with her now gone, he set out to prove her wrong."<br/>Now all he had to do was find the kids--a meeting, a plan, and finally the reunion of our "Three Minutes" Katniss and Peeta. Written for the Prompts in Panem-"SLOTH" challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One: Lazy

_Thank you to Chelzie for being an awesome beta—and getting this done!_

**Lazy**

By JLaLa

_“Haymitch! Get the camera—I finally have them all cleaned up and ready!”_

_She was always about the pictures._

_Grumbling, Haymitch sat up from his recliner and walked over to the small side table across the room. The drawer of the second hand table creaked as he reached in and grabbed their ancient camera—Effie had paid five dollars for the damn thing._

_She was frugal when she wanted to be._

_Stepping outside, he watched her fuss over the six wriggling children. From the tallest to the smallest, Effie went through and wiped any smudges from their faces, then fixed their hair._

_“Effie, why do we have to do this?” Annie, the smallest of the bunch, asked. Her large green eyes peeked through dark, unruly hair which Effie was always trying to fix. It always looked slightly disheveled no matter what she did._

_“Because I want to take a picture of my children,” Effie replied cheerily and kissed her forehead. “It’s a big,big,big day for us!”_

_They had tried for five years before the doctors had told them that Effie couldn’t conceive. She took it with a gentle smile that faded quickly when they went to bed that same night. His heart broke for her but he would’ve been a shitty father anyway._

_But Effie would’ve made a damn fine mother._

_So they decided to open a foster home. He had suggested it—because he couldn’t stand to hear her cry._

_“Can we get this over with?” Gale, the tallest one, stomped his feet. He wasn’t the oldest but his hard glare made everyone quiet down._

_“Alright, alright, darling boy,” Effie said soothingly as she walked to him. Putting her arm around the boy’s shoulders, she looked over at Haymitch and gave him a dazzling smile. “You can take the picture.”_

_“Okay.” Haymitch moved an eye over the viewer. ”Say ‘cheese’ or some shit like that!”_

_“Haymitch-no cursing! Little ears!”_

_He loved teasing her._

_“CHEESE!” The kids bellowed._

_CLICK._

++++++

**_ TEN YEARS LATER _ **

Effie always thought he was lazy. But with her now gone, he set out to prove her wrong.

Looking over the foreclosure letter again, he took another swig of bourbon before crumbling the piece of paper and throwing it to the ground.

Snow was finally getting what he wanted—he was closing the last foster home in the District. Now all homeless, parentless children of Panem would be going to a state of the art ‘facility’ in the Capitol.

Facility—more like a prison.

When Effie read the news last year, it was the beginning of the end for her. The cancer that grew in her spread like wildfire in only three months and before he knew it—she was gone.

He could hardly breathe thinking about it.

There were only three children left in his care: Rory, Primrose, and Rue. He loved them all the best he could, but he had very little help from the Capitol so the place was going to shit.

Looking over at the bare spot where his wedding ring was, Haymitch felt his eyes burn. He had to sell it—Prim was getting a cough. They needed the medicine and some soup.

Putting his head down on the desk, he tried to stop the overwhelming need to open another bottle.

He didn’t want to think anymore.

_“Get off your ass and do something, lazybones!”_

He sat up quickly and looked around—she still haunted him. His eyes caught a glint of gold—a picture frame in the corner of their office. Unsteadily, he pushed himself up from the worn desk chair and walked over to it.

The color on the picture had faded, but her smile still shone through.

He knew what he had to do.

He had to find them.

When Haymitch found his way back to his desk, he pulled out a legal pad and began writing his list:

**Johanna Mason**

**Gale Hawthorne**

**Annie Cresta**

**Finnick Odair**

**Peeta Mellark**

**Katniss Everdeen**

++++++

Johanna Mason was the easiest to find. She had made her fortune in the Capitol as a computer programmer. Effie had been quite proud of the tough-as-nails girl.

Haymitch knew better.

Johanna was clever—always had been since she had come to them years ago.

Her family had been killed because her father made some shady deals with some very rich businessmen. She was in school when they told her that her mother, father and younger brother were burned alive in their small home.

Now she was getting her revenge.

“Mr. Abernathy?” the receptionist called out to him. “Miss Mason will see you now.”

Standing up, he gave the receptionist a nod before opening the door and entering the swanky office. The room smelled faintly of burnt wood with floor to ceiling windows on each side of the room.

And there before him stood Johanna—with her razor sharp bob and black business suit.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” she said, her voice low and teasing. “I never thought I’d see you in the Capitol.”

Rushing over, Johanna threw her arms around him and he was engulfed in the exotic scent that she wore. It was like opium.

“You’re looking good, kid,” he replied with a small smile. “And I can see that you’re doing well.”

“More than okay—actually,” she informed him with a grin. “Just acquired a new client—now that Cray has been let go.”

“Cray?” Haymitch guffawed as he sat in the plush chair in front of her. “He was practically running this building—what the hell happened?”

Johanna sat on her desk across from him and smiled benignly.

“Let’s just say someone found some rather confidential information on his hard drive.”

There it was. Johanna was always obsessed with breaking things open and putting them together. Effie would buy her books about building things, especially electronics. Before she was taken from them, Johanna knew how to fix and disassemble anything in their house.

She also had a nasty habit of hacking into computers—and found some rather risqué photos that he had taken with Effie during their newlywed days.

“So what can I do for you?” she asked with her arms crossed.

“Effie’s gone, you know,” he told her softly. Johanna gasped and Haymitch saw the hard façade fade from her body. “It’s been about a year.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“She didn’t want any of the kids to know,” Haymitch said. “My last three kids are heartbroken—they lost their mama and so did you. Also, Snow is closing our place down.”

Her eyes hardened immediately. “Damned if I’ll ever let that happen.”

Johanna agreed with his plan right away.

++++++

He thought the next one would be harder to find. Fortunately, Johanna managed to “find” some Capitol files with his last known address.

Walking over to the back of the building, Haymitch knocked twelve times—and the door opened quickly.

“What do you want?” the tall, olive skinned man asked. He was dressed in a shirt that was way too tight for his bulging muscles and the glare of the light from the inside shone on his bald head.

“Tell your boss that the ‘Victor’ is here,” he replied.

When Gale was a kid, he loved to play chess with Haymitch. He was obsessed with winning.

Especially since every win got him a dollar from his foster father.

His family had been dirt poor—they had all been taken by pneumonia when Gale had come to them. He was a surly boy and was constantly in need of something.

He always needed more hugs from Effie or more food than the other kids.

Gale knew how to get what he wanted.

By the time he was taken from them, Gale could ramble off probability stats for any sports team or any race like a pro. He also never lost a game against any of the kids. Finnick and Gale almost killed each other over a game of football once.

But he never won a chess game against Haymitch—so the older man was forever the ‘Victor’ to him.

The security guard spoke into his headset then turn to him right away. “Go right in, sir.”

“Thanks—what’s your name?”

“Brutus.” The man wasn’t so scary now—there was a hint of fear in his eyes.

Strolling past the guard, he walked down the hallway towards the singular door. Before he could knock, Haymitch heard the familiar drawl of Gale Hawthorne’s voice.

“Come in already!”

Opening the door, Haymitch was greeted by the handsome, tanned man who was once his foster son.  Gale jumped from his seat and rushed over to him.

“Haymitch! You son of a bitch! How the hell are you?” His face lit up as he lifted the older man in a robust hug.

Damn, Gale was strong.

The room was plain. Grey walls and no windows—but there were television screens –three to each wall that were playing some sort of game or track race.

“I’m great, boy,” Haymitch replied affectionately. “What the hell do you have here?”

“Just doing what I do best—winning.”

It was then that Haymitch noticed that they weren’t alone. A nervous young man sat on the couch adjacent to them.

He was a handsome fellow—golden haired and chiseled but there was something in his eyes.

“I was just telling Gloss here about how easy it is to win,” Gale said. “You see, Gloss is in love but the girl of his dreams is a little out of his league. A debutante, right?”

“Yeah,” Gloss replied breathlessly. “Enobaria Franklin.”

“Oh, I’ve seen her in the Capitol magazine—she’s a beaut.” Gale walked over to the couch and put an arm around Gloss.

Haymitch knew Gale’s game and he tried to keep a straight face.

“You give me that thousand and I turn it to millions,” Gale continued. “Imagine it--you could give that girl everything she wants and her family will BEG you to marry her.”

Gale sure knew how to paint a pretty picture when he wanted to.

“Cash or check?” Gloss asked, his eyes suddenly glowing with excitement.

“Cash—best not to trace anything back to you.”

The deal was done in ten seconds and Gloss was gone—dreaming of the wedding that would probably never happen.

“How much did you make off that boy?” Haymitch asked, once they were alone.

“Probably about two mil,” Gale replied off-handedly. “I heard what happened with Snow—I’m in.”

That’s why he liked Gale—no hesitation as long as he got something out of it—money, power, as long as it was in his favor.

“Want to play a game?” Haymitch asked after he explained his plan.

Gale reached under the couch and pulled out Haymitch’s old chess set, then grinned at him.

“Thought you’d never ask.”

++++++

“I knew that buying that chemistry set would come in handy.”

Haymitch wasn’t surprised that Annie Cresta had become such a beautiful woman. She was always a pretty little girl.

The problem was that her Daddy thought that she was real pretty, too.

She came to them slightly jittery on a cold November night with only a torn dress and bruises on her wrists—restraints from the old man. For the first six months, no one but Effie could touch her. Effie had been patient with the little girl and slowly Annie had opened up to each of them.

Annie, however, always needed to please people and coddle them. She made Johanna anything that she wanted to eat, or helped Finnick with his homework even when instructed not to.

“Haymitch!” Annie gave him a shaky laugh and rushed into his arms. She was still a tiny thing.

“How you doing, sweetheart?”

This part of the kitchen was all Annie’s—no one was allowed in because of the sensitivity of the ingredients.

At least, that’s what the staff told the patrons of ‘Waves Bistro’.

“I’m alright.” Annie pulled away after a moment. She patted down her messy hair and his eyes burned thinking about how Effie fussed over that hair. “I missed you though—and Effie, too. Where is she?” The woman looked around for her mother.

“I’m sorry, Annie, but we lost her a year ago.”

He waited for her to react and Haymitch could see her wringing her hands. Annie trembled for a moment and then took a breath—she did this often as a kid.

“Was it quick?” she asked in a shaky voice.

“It was—and she didn’t want any of you rushing over to her,” he said and pulled her in for another hug. “She would be so proud of you. Look at everything that you’ve done for yourself.”

“I’m not so sure that she would be,” Annie told him.

The success of ‘Waves’ was overwhelming. The reservation list was booked for six months in advance and the people of the Capitol were paying huge amounts to eat at Annie’s restaurant.

They just weren’t sure why. All they knew was that wanted more.

Besides cooking—Annie seemed to be very interested in one other thing as a child—mixing. She loved to combined liquids and powders to see what would happen. There was always a willing participant in the house.

How Finnick never got sick was beyond him.

“Annie, what is all this?” He looked around at the containers of white powder on the tall racks.

No labels, but Haymitch knew that Annie did this for a reason.

Everything she created was memorized in her head. It was the only thing that kept her sanity intact.

“I give them what they want,” Annie whispered to him.

Taking his hand, she led him to the windows of her office. Below them, Haymitch could see the filled tables. All of the plates were either empty or quickly in the process of being eaten. The customers couldn’t get enough.

It reminded him of a pig feeding—the way they ate.

“You see that man over there?” She pointed to the dark haired man with impeccably designed beard. “He wants to feel powerful—and so I make him feel powerful. Those guests of his are eating a meal that was designed to make them respect him—and fear him. I made that happen.”

“Why do you do it?”

“Because I like to make people happy---and people will pay a lot for happiness,” Annie told him as she met his eyes. “As long as I can create, then I’ll be okay.”

He could see inside her—the need to control those around her by indulging them.

The quiet people are sometimes the scariest ones.

“Whatever you want, I’m in,” she continued after a moment. “It’s what Effie would’ve wanted.”

He patted her head affectionately and kissed her forehead. “When are you ever going to fix this hair of yours?”

“Probably never—Effie always liked it messy. She just never told anyone.”

++++++

“You know that you forgot to deactivate the security cameras, right?”

Finnick gave Haymitch a winning grin as he closed the door behind him. “I’m sure that you fixed that right up for me.”

“Who was in that room?” the older man asked as they walked down the hall. Finnick adjusted his leather gloves before turning to him. The boy grew up to be pretty good looking—bronze and chiseled, just how the Capitol ladies like their men.

Finnick aimed to please. Most of all, he pleased himself.

His mother had been an ‘entertainer’ herself.

When she was killed by a client during a session, Finnick had come to them. He slept under his bed for months because he was used to hiding under his mother’s bed while she amused her guests in any way she could.

His mother’s popularity was due to her golden looks and golden charms. She had passed it on to her son.

Finnick was _very_ popular with the older Capitol women.

But Haymitch knew that he was looking for something more, he was looking for the mother he had lost in them.

“A rather nice lady who needed to talk,” Finnick replied easily as they got to the elevator.

When they got in, Haymitch made sure that red light of the camera was off. Their security office was very easily accessible and the guards were probably making a fortune by doing nothing.

After all, discretion was key in the Capitol.

When the elevator opened, Finnick led him outside of the crystalline high-rise and down the block. The two didn’t speak because even the streets weren’t safe against Snow’s people.

Out of all of the kids, Finnick didn’t seem to care much about what other people thought. He just did his own thing, which mostly consisted of trying to get one of the girls to give him a kiss.

Haymitch reckoned that he got something from at least one of them.

They reached a brownstone home and Finnick unlocked the door to let them in. When the door was closed and locked, the young man led him to the living room.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. Picture frames filled the shelves along with other mementos, they were practically overflowing.

Finnick went to a shelf and pulled out a pair of bronzed baby shoes from his pocket then placed it carefully inside.

“What the fuck is all this?” Haymitch asked in shock.

“Keepsakes from my clients,” the younger man informed him. Finnick passed a mirror and fixed a tendril of his golden hair before turning to Haymitch. “What did you need?”

“None of these ladies have said anything?”

“What do you suppose they would tell their husbands?” Finnick replied as he went to the bar next to the window. “That the hot piece of ass that fucks them took a pair of bronze baby shoes? “ He poured a glass of amber liquid from an unlabeled bottle then walked over to Haymitch. “Bourbon, right?”

Haymitch gulped it quickly then sat on the leather couch next to him. “That’s sick.”

Finnick joined him. “I have to do what I have to do to survive,” Finnick said as he met his foster father’s eyes.

Haymitch could see it then—his desperation. 

Finnick held it all inside that gloriously used body of his.

“Effie’s gone, you know,” Haymitch told him.

Finnick went silent as he stared straight ahead at the collection in front of them. Getting up, he went to the fireplace and took something from it.

When he sat down, Finnick placed a familiar wooden earring on the coffee table in front of them.

He grinned—she was always looking for that earring. “That’s mahogany, you know.”

Finnick smiled back at him. “I know. It was the first memento I ever collected.”

Haymitch knew he would say yes.

++++++

He needed Peeta to get the last one.

Peeta Mellark was the smallest of the boys. His mother had locked him in their basement after his father’s death—she couldn’t stand that he looked like the man she lost. He had been so malnourished when he came to them that Effie sold any jewelry she could to buy the supplements he needed to catch up to the others.

In time, he eventually grew taller than the girls; he wasn’t muscular like Gale, nor was he chiseled like Finnick. He had, however, a handsome, youthful charm to him that made him popular with the girls.

Peeta was always wanting, however.

Haymitch and Effie worried about him the most—he never really caught up with any of the other kids. There was nothing that seemed to strike his fancy.

When he was taken, Peeta asked for nothing except for three minutes with Katniss.

The girl never told anyone what they talked about. Stubborn chit.

The garage was empty when he walked in but he could hear the clanking of metal coming from the back.

“Peeta?” he called out. “It’s Haymitch!”

The clanking stopped and Haymitch was surprised to see the man in front of him.

Peeta had changed.

He was broad with strong arms and had grown several inches since he left them. Effie would’ve been so happy to see him looking like this. She had tried so hard to give him what he needed.

Peeta walked over to him with an excited smile. “I can’t believe it!”

The two embraced and Peeta led him through the back of the garage to his office.

“Looks like you’re doing well,” Haymitch remarked as he closed the office door.

“Well, I’m not running a restaurant like Annie or being the Capitol hunk like Finnick, but I’m good,” Peeta replied and Haymitch could hear the strain in his voice. “I’m sorry about Effie—I heard about it but I knew she would call if she really wanted us there.”

“You know she wanted you to remember her the way she was,” he said to the boy. “I need your help, Peeta.”

“What could I possibly do to help you?” Peeta asked, pain in his eyes. “I’m nothing special—nothing really.”

“Holy hell—Effie would smack your face if you said that in front of her!”

“She would, wouldn’t she?” Peeta smiled to himself as he thought of her motherly speeches. “I’m not rich or smart like the others, so I don’t know what I could do.”

Haymitch placed a hand on his shoulder and looked into the blue eyes that Effie always said were Peeta’s best feature.

“You could go get her.”

++++++

_“Let’s make a dream for you_

_I just wanna be myself now_

_Hey, keep dreaming…_

_Get in and lose it!_

_Don’t stop driving…”_

Peeta walked around the crowded club, pushing past scantily clad girls entertaining guests. The smell of sweat and powder was everywhere.

He had never been to ‘The Mockingjay’.

The thousand dollar cover charge had been provided by Johanna—he had never had that much money in his bank account.

The morning after his meeting with Haymitch, he had woken up to a million dollars in his bank account for ‘car repairs’ and a text on his phone saying that he should probably get some new clothes.

He needed to look rich.

Peeta had never asked for much.

He only wanted one thing—her.

The Mockingjay.

That’s what they called her.

Sitting down in a small booth, Peeta looked for her. He had heard rumors that she could do things that made men fall to their knees.

They opened their hearts as well as wallets for her.

“What can I get you, dollface?” He looked up to see a petite blond in a pure white corset and boy shorts. She looked like she could’ve been his sister. “I’m Madge and I’ll be your waitress.”

“I’m looking for someone.” He looked around. “I’m looking for _her_.”

Madge nodded quickly. “Well, I’m going to need your photo ID and credit card before I can do any of that.”

Hesitantly, he reached into his wallet and pulled out the cards. Quickly, he pulled out one more thing and handed it to Madge.

She raised her brows. “What the hell is this?”

“She’ll know.”

Madge walked off quickly. The club was packed and he looked around at the caged dancers, then to the filled dance floor.

Katniss hated to dance. Effie always tried to teach them, but Katniss was determined to not do it. He still remembered the way her two braids would swing violently as she shook her head.

“Come with me.” He looked up to see Madge staring at him oddly.

Quickly, Peeta stood up and joined her. Madge took his hand and led him away from the dance floor to a dark corridor where softer music played.

These were the private entertainment rooms.

The last room, Room 12, was hers.

Madge opened the door for him and he walked inside.

“Enjoy,” she said with a wink before closing the door behind her.

He looked around at the fiery red of the walls. It looked like blood. Katniss never talked about what had brought her to the home.  Haymitch and Effie just brought her in one night.

She was covered in a bright red sheet and nothing else.

“Hey.”

He turned to see her grey eyes staring at him. Peeta dreamed of those eyes for years.

Yes, he had wanted her for years. Peeta imagined how she would look like now and those were the most torturous nights for him. He would wake up covered in sweat and achingly hard at the thought of her grey eyes.

Nothing compared to the sight before him, thick chocolate hair that fell against her soft shoulders and curves that were emphasized perfectly by the tightly woven black corset she wore under the matching silk robe.

“Hey,” he greeted back. “How are you?”

“You didn’t pay fifty thousand dollars to talk to me,” Katniss said as she walked towards him. “No one talks to me.”

“I’m here to talk to you,” Peeta replied easily as she led him to a plush chair in the middle of the room. As she slid off the robe, he could see that the cups of the corset barely held her breasts in. “Haymitch is looking for you.”

Katniss straddled him and he tried not to focus on her forceful grind—or the heat coming from in-between the apex of her thighs.

“Listen to me,” she whispered against his ear. “We can’t talk here—they’re everywhere.”

The warmth of her breath against his ear made him twitch. “Then where and when?”

Her hands reached behind his neck so that she could hold on to him as she danced. Katniss smiled softly and for a moment he saw the girl he knew. 

Peeta pushed his pelvis against hers and he was surprised when she let out a quiet groan. She cocked an eyebrow at him and his hands went to her hips as he brushed his now hard length against the barely there thong she wore.

“Tell me,” he urged as he gripped her hips roughly.

“In the back—ten minutes!” Katniss replied and her eyes closed as she pushed against him.

When she opened them again, Peeta could see them clouded over with lust as she gasped for breath. “You play a wicked game.”

“You started it,” he countered. “Is this what they come for?”

“They pay because I know how to make them feel good,” Katniss told him as she moved against him. “I bring it out of them.”

“What?” His hand traveled in-between her thighs without hesitation.

The slick heat of his fingers in her reminded him of the three minutes he had asked for before he left her alone.

“Power, lust, fear, whatever makes them feel like they can run the world.”

“And what about you?” He pushed in deeper and his thumb found her clit. Peeta’s lips found her neck and his mouth tasted the skin he dreamt about for years.  “What makes you come?”

She still tasted the same.

“I have my memories,” she said softly into his neck.

Peeta felt her clamp down against his fingers and the rush of heat against his hand.

“Good girl, let it out,” he whispered against her ear as she hissed her orgasm into his. “I’ll see you outside. I’m going to call Haymitch and let him know you’re in.”

Gently, Peeta let his fingers slide out of her as he helped her stand up.

Peeta’s fingers quickly went to his mouth so that he could taste her. It was as sweet as he imagined.  

His eyes traveled to the Mockingjay pin that he had given Madge to give to her. It sat nicely in-between the dip of the sweetheart line of the corset.

Katniss met his eyes and grinned. “Damn you, Peeta Mellark.”

++++++

“I did it, Eff,” Haymitch said as he placed the bouquet of sunflowers on top of her tombstone. “You always thought I was a lazy bastard but I’m going to save our home. And I know you never thought I cared for the little ones, but I did. Every single one of them—but I wish I could’ve done better for you.”

His eyes watered thinking of her last smile—so gentle and serene. 

“She never thought you were lazy.”

Haymitch turned to see Johanna walking towards him along with Gale. They both carried bouquets of flowers which they placed in front of her stone.

“Effie just knew how to push your buttons,” Gale said as he reached into the bag he carried on his shoulder and pulled out a bottle of champagne. “She knew how to make you do things without you knowing it. She was the real mastermind.”

“I guess I wasn’t the only one who remembered.” Finnick joined them with a jovial smile. He took out the mahogany earring and placed it on top of the tombstone. “Hey, Effie—sorry for taking your earring. I just wanted something to remember my Mom by.”

Haymitch put an arm around him. “Glad you came.” He nodded at Johanna and Gale. “All of you.”

“Sorry, I’m late.” Annie arrived breathlessly and hugged him. “Had to run an errand.”

She placed a box in his hand and he hesitated before opening it.

The ring still looked new to him despite the many scratches it held. Each scratch held a memory of her and their years together.

“What did we miss?” The group turned to find Peeta and Katniss walking towards them. Their hands were entwined tightly and Haymitch grinned—he knew Peeta would bring her back.

“Hey, Mockingjay,” Finnick teased, though his smile fell slightly seeing Annie staring at him disapprovingly.

“None of that,” Peeta said to him. “She’s just Katniss to us—none of that Mockingjay shit.”

“Looks like someone grew some balls,” Johanna remarked with a smirk.

“Can we just toast already?” Gale stomped his foot and then looked down at the tombstone he was standing on. “Sorry—uh, Mr. Jones.”

Annie handed out the cups and Gale poured.

When they were topped off, Haymitch looked around at the group. At their children.

“It’s going to be a big, big, big day,” he started, quoting his late wife. “And we’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’re going to do it. For Effie.”

They toasted in agreement and Haymitch gulped it down quickly before meeting their eyes again.

“Let the games begin.”

* * *

Song:

“Dream Racer”-4Minute


	2. Part Two: Wanting

 

Thank you to all who read the first chapter of “Lazy” and its prequel, “Three Minutes”, during Prompts in Panem!

Hopefully you’ve noticed, but each of our characters has a little bit of sin in them. Advantage or disadvantage?  

We’ll see.

The characters of The Hunger Games do not belong to me.

Thank you to Chelzie, my dear beta who is just too awesome for words.

**_NOTE: This chapter begins right after the Peeta and Katniss’ reunion at the Mockingjay._ **

Lazy

By JLaLa

Part Two: Wanting

“She’s in.”

“Knew you could do it, kid,” Haymitch responded into the phone and laughed. “Now that you have her—what you going to do with her?”

Peeta thought for a moment before answering, “Bring her home.”

“I’ll see you two tomorrow. Take care of her,” his foster father told him. “Finnick has seen her around a couple of times and well, if he’s concerned…”

“Yeah, I know. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Peeta hung up the cell phone and placed it in the pocket of the black leather jacket. The silk black shirt and ink blue pants completed the ensemble, making him look like he belonged in the trendy Capitol club.

Johanna was a generous benefactor with _other_ people’s money.

Rounding the building, he found Katniss waiting for him. Unfortunately, she wasn’t alone.

“You can’t leave,” the golden haired man told her, his face inches away from hers. “You have other clients.”

“I’m done for tonight,” she replied evenly. Peeta could see that she had shut down; her grey eyes were blank as she responded.

Quietly, he walked towards them. He had always been a light walker, which had helped him to get the things he needed to survive.

Her eyes met his briefly and Peeta put a finger to his lips.

“Actually, I’m done forever,” Katniss said to the man.

The backhand to her cheek came quickly and without warning.

When he heard the sickening crunch of her jaw meeting the man’s knuckles, Peeta didn’t hesitate, pulling the pistol out from inside his jacket pocket.

Gale had sent him a text after Johanna’s.

It was a warning—perhaps getting her back wouldn’t be as easy as Haymitch predicted and he might need something to negotiate with.

The small silver pistol had been delivered an hour later with a note: _‘Just in case. –G’_

“Move and I’ll blow your fucking brains out,” he told the man coldly. Peeta looked over at Katniss, who was rubbing her jaw. “Are you okay?”

“That hurt,” she replied tonelessly.

“Shoot me and your life is over.” Peeta could hear the sneer in his voice. “I know people—powerful people.”

“Cato,” Katniss approached them, her hips swaying provocatively. ”Remember--you hit _me_. The Mockingjay.”

“Yes, Cato,” Peeta added as he pushed the muzzle of the pistol into the back of the prick’s head. ‘’It would be self-defense. Because no one would ever think that the lovely Mockingjay could do something like this unless it was necessary.”

“What do you want?” He could hear the tremble in Cato’s voice.

Katniss placed a hand on his shoulder and their eyes met briefly. Peeta could see the fire in her stirring.

“I’ll take it from here,” she told him and her hand joined his on the grip of the pistol.

He let go when she had a steady hold and went to the look at the man.

Cato was tall and muscular, and that was about it. There was nothing else worth saving and it made the job easier.  Peeta saw the fear in his eyes and felt his lips curl into a small grin.

“What do I want?” Peeta repeated as he approached him. Their eyes met and Peeta saw that Cato’s were a similar shade of blue. He could also see him swallow nervously.

Katniss unlocked the safety on the pistol.

“I want her,” Peeta said as he met her eyes again. “By any means necessary.”

++++++

“Where are we?” she asked as they drove up in a cherry red Chevelle and parked in front of the large metal garage door.

Cato had a nice car.

“My garage,” Peeta replied before getting out of the car.

Going to her side, he opened the door and Katniss gave him a small smile before taking his hand.

Once she was on her feet, Katniss kept a tight grip on his hand. He found her touch comforting and old memories of their childhood together came flooding back to his mind.

The garage was about forty minutes away from the Capitol. Most of the repair stations were located in the same neighborhood, but his own business had flourished thanks to his knack for turning vintage cars that were once obsolete into working wonders.

The Chevelle they were driving was one that he had worked on—a present for Snow’s nephew.

Now it was back where it belonged. Just like her.

“It’s nice,” Katniss said as he led her to the side of the building and up the stairs to his apartment. “You were closer than I thought.”

Peeta turned to her when he reached the top. “I was just waiting for the right time.”

His hand reached out to cup her cheek and Katniss leaned into it, closing her eyes as she did.

“I know,” she said quietly. Her eyes opened, revealing molten grey as she looked at him. “I made sure you would find me.”

His insides jumped and Peeta quickly reached into pants pocket to take out his key.

Unlocking the door, he turned to her apologetically. “It’s not much—“

Katniss rolled her eyes and smiled. “Just open the door.”

When Peeta hesitated, she grabbed his hand and opened the door. As she walked in, he reached for the light switch next to the doorway and flipped it up.

“Wow,” Katniss said as she looked around. Dropping his hand, she walked to the center of the room and then turned to him with a teasing grin. “You’re so full of shit.”

“What?”

“This place is great.”

Peeta watched her look around the apartment. The top floor of the garage was supposed to be a storage area, but he had renovated it into his own little home. In the far corner was the kitchen, with a small round table and two chairs that rested against the tiny window.

The rest of the space was taken up by an L-shaped sectional that he had found on the side of the road. His neighbors, Portia and Octavia, taught him how to upholster the couch, and then sewed the plush beige covering as a birthday present to him two years ago.

“You need to stop being so down on yourself,” she said as she approached him and he got his first real look at Katniss Everdeen.

He liked her better this way —natural. She had taken off the make-up and her dark hair was in a single ropy braid that went down her back. However, she was wearing a pair of leather pants and an even tighter top that left very little to the imagination.

Peeta wondered how she even got out of the pants; the thought caused a familiar tingle to run through his body.

“Do you want to change?” he asked suddenly.

Katniss raised her eyebrows as she stared at him. Her eyes went downward before nodding.

“The door next to the kitchen is my room. You can get some clothes there and there’s a bathroom, too-“

“--Thanks, I’ll be back,” she responded while rushing over to the door and closing it behind her.

He needed to get it together.

Going into the kitchen, he got out his kettle and filled it with water before setting it on the stove. In the fridge, he got out the rolls he had made that morning and tossed four into the oven.

Turning the oven on, he rested his hands on the counter and took a deep breath.

“I feel so much better.”

He looked up to find that Katniss had joined him in the kitchen. She was in a long, white V-neck t-shirt and black boxers. Her hair was unraveled and relaxed—it reminded him of their last few minutes together at Effie and Haymitch’s house.

He wondered if it was just as soft as it was before.

“Where did you get the stockings?” Katniss asked as she pulled out a chair for herself. He looked over at the burgundy knitted stockings on her feet. They reached above her knees, leaving a small bit of skin between the boxers.

“My neighbor, Portia, is a seamstress,” Peeta replied as he opened a cupboard and took out two mugs, placing them at the table. “She made them for me last winter.”

“Oh.” Katniss sat down slowly and then looked at him, her eyes troubled. “Were you two involved?”

He laughed and shook his head.  “No, she’s like an aunt to me—an overprotective one at that.”

The kettle whistled; he turned off the stove and went to fill their mugs. Next, he grabbed a plate and a pair of mitts before pulling out the cooked rolls from the oven.

He set the plate next to her. “Here. Eat.”

Katniss looked up at him curiously. “What are these?”

“Some rolls with a little bit of cheese inside and —“ he reached for the canister on top of the fridge, “Hot chocolate.”

“Remember how Effie always made sure we had hot chocolate during our birthdays?” she asked as he sat down. “Haymitch would grumble over how she spoiled us, but then she’d make him a ‘special’ cup.”

“Usually laced with alcohol,” he responded with a soft laugh.

Katniss opened the canister and took a spoonful of the rich cocoa, then one more. She always loved hot chocolate.

Since the kitchen was small enough, Peeta easily reached over to the adjacent drawer and pulled out a spoon for her.

“No one has ever made me anything to eat,” Katniss said as she took the spoon from him. She looked up and he could see her cheeks had darkened. “It’s like we’re on a date or something.”

“I’m sure that you’ve had plenty of dates—“

“—Appointments and outings, but no dates,” she finished with a bitter laugh.

“Then we’re on a date,” he told her. “It’s my first one, too.”

“Liar!” She looked at him skeptically.

He shook his head. “Beside Portia and Octavia, her roommate, it’s all men around here,” he informed her. Peeta placed a hand over hers and marveled at the softness of her olive skin. He found himself running his thumb over the top of her hand. “Plus, I wouldn’t want to take out anyone else but you.”

“Good,” Her stocking foot rubbed his ankle teasingly. “I’m having fun so far.”

Peeta swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. She wasn’t making this very easy.

He held up his cup. “To our first date.”

Katniss held up her cup. “May it be in our favor.”

They toasted.

++++++

“How did you do this?”

Katniss looked at the old jukebox she found while exploring the closet in the hallway. Together, they dragged the machine out and set it against the wall opposite the couch.

“A lot of the buildings around here are abandoned,” he replied as he plugged the machine into an outlet. “There’s an old diner about ten minutes away from here and I found this in it. I was reading a lot about programming at the time. I fixed it up so that it would work, then pulled out all the old records. After I did that, I set up a downloadable system and music player.”

“What kind of music do you have?”

Peeta cocked his head. “Not really sure.” He walked over and randomly pressed three numbers on the front panel. “I let Octavia download anything she could get from her parents’ music collection.”

The room was suddenly filled with the beginning sounds of a rock song.

_“Well this is just a simple song_   
_To say what you done_   
_I told you about all those fears_   
_And away they did run…”_

Katniss turned to him. “How do you lower the volume?”

He pressed the downward arrow next to the number pad before he turned to look at her.

She looked exhausted.

“I want to tell you everything,” she said after a moment, her eyes still on the machine. “How all of it happened.” Katniss turned to him. “How I became the Mockingjay.”

He nodded and Katniss led him over to the couch.

Letting Peeta sit first, she sat next to him and laid the back of her head against his chest.

“I left the day after you did,” she began and Peeta rested his forearm against her collarbone. “I couldn’t be there without you—Effie gave me some train fare and suggested that I go to the Capitol. I think she figured that they would test you here before distributing you to a District.”

Peeta was a rare one. He had tested well in creativity, but lacked the smarts to become a product developer in the Capitol. So they sent him to the maintenance yards.

It was pretty much a dead end for anyone.

“I was on the train and a man sat next to me. He was fascinated with my eyes and hair. Apparently they’re rare in the Capitol. His name was Cinna and he taught me everything I know.” Her eyes went blank as she recalled her past.

“And what do you know?”

“I know that lust isn’t all about sex,” she replied as she looked up at him. “Do you know what a geisha is?”

Peeta shook his head.

“Before the Capitol and all of this,” Katniss waved her hand around, “When there were other countries, geisha were Japanese female entertainers. It wasn’t sex for them—it was about pleasuring in some way artistically.”

“Cinna was a designer and during his presentation parties, I would walk around in his dresses,” she explained. “They were a hit and so was I. His clients began to ask if I would do the same thing during their parties. Cinna and I decided that I would—I needed to get my name out there.”

She sat up and turned to him. “I needed you to find me.”

“I heard rumors,” Peeta told her. “But I was too scared to hope.”

“Cinna knew about you,” Katniss said and she laid her head on his shoulder. He pulled her close, afraid that she wasn’t real, that he had dreamt her up. “He told me there were things that no one could take away; things that I could keep for you—for us.”

His mouth went dry. “What do you mean?”

“If a client wanted me privately, there were two rules,” she explained as she turned and rested her chin on his shoulder. “No one could touch me here,” she pointed downward in-between her thighs. “Or here.”

Her finger went to her lips.

“So no one has ever kissed you?” He felt his lips lift into a grin and Katniss nodded, a smile forming on her own lips.

“I needed something to hope for.”

“So what would you do?” he asked curiously.

“A lot of the men really wanted company,” she replied. “I learned to become conversational—Cinna trained me. I learned about the client and what they did for a living so when the time came, we would have something to talk about. A lot of them opened up and would tell me about their childhoods, how they met their wives, or about their kids. Some of them would tell me how unhappy they were.”

“I became their confidant,” Katniss continued. “It was sad, really. Some of them were pretty messed up. All they needed was someone to take care of them. I would get paid just to sing them to sleep sometimes.”

“So most of the time... nothing physical?” Peeta questioned.

“I learned to use my hands or other parts,” she answered quietly. “I learned to dance—some just wanted to look at me or watch me use my hands—on myself.”

Peeta felt the rush of heat flood his face as he thought about her placing her hands against her body. He wondered if she had thought about him—about their time together.

“Then one day, Snow came to Cinna’s studio,” her voice hardened. “He had a suggestion—a bidding war.”

“For what?”

“For this,” she pointed in-between her legs again and grimaced. “A rare gift from the Mockingjay.”

“So what happened?”

“Cinna won the bidding war,” Katniss said simply. “Under another name, of course.” She looked over at him. “Cinna wasn’t interested in me like that, if you know what I mean. He preferred something a little bit more masculine—someone like you.”

Peeta laughed. “So you went over Snow’s head.”

She nodded. “He needed to be convinced that I had actually done it, though.” Katniss took a deep breath before speaking again. “So Cinna gave me a contraption…” Her face turned scarlet and placed her face in her hands. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”

“What?”

She looked up at him. “It was shaped like a—you know.” Katniss’ eyes went to his crotch.

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” she responded. “Cinna gave me some bourbon and left for the night.”

“So did you do it?”

Katniss met his eyes. “I told you I had my memories. They were enough to get me through it.”

Holy crap. She had gotten off thinking about _them_.

The room went silent except for the raspy voice singing on the jukebox.

“Snow found out—Cinna was beaten to death a week later.” Her eyes filled with tears until they streaked down her cheeks. “The Mockingjay is his old studio—I turned it into a club and made a deal with Cato. He was my business partner and the buffer between Snow… until tonight.”

Katniss looked up at him, her eyes hard. “I want Snow obliterated—for both Cinna _and_ Effie. He killed them both.”

Peeta took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Agreed.”

 He looked over at the jukebox and then at her. “Did you want to dance?”

“What?”

“Effie taught us—or tried to teach you anyway,” Peeta joked and pulled her up. “Come on.”

Leading her to the open space, he placed a hand on her waist and took her other hand gently.

“Where do I put this hand?” she asked him.

“Shoulder, I guess.” He tried to think of what Effie had taught them.  “We’ll improvise.”

“Seems to be our thing,” she responded as they began to move.

_“Well the time it takes to know someone_   
_It all can change before you know it's gone_   
_So close your eyes, feel the way I'm with you now_   
_Believe there's nothing wrong…”_

Katniss’ body fell against his as they moved and even though they had been apart for so long, he still remembered the curves of her body. Some parts had changed as they’d grown, but inside he still saw the same girl that had been his best friend for years.

Being so close to her seemed to trigger a current throughout his body—and it had nothing to do with the fact that she was pressed so close to him.

It was her—just Katniss.

_“I'm not running_   
_I'm not hiding_   
_If you dig a little deeper, you will find me…”_

“Peeta?” She pulled away and her eyes focused on his mouth, then at him again.

Peeta leaned his forehead against hers and looked down at her mouth. He never noticed the freckle on her bottom lip before.

Without another thought, his lips found hers.

_“I'm not lost, not lost, just undiscovered_   
_And when we're alone, we're all the same as each other…”_

That first kiss was soft but she sighed into his mouth and her tongue touched his.

And then the first kiss became the second one.

Katniss tasted like hot chocolate. He would always remember that.

Pulling away, she smiled against his mouth. “That was one hell of a kiss.”

++++++

She woke him up with her lips.

His eyes opened and she pulled away briefly to greet him. “Good morning.”

The sun shone through the bedroom window behind her, creating a halo around her dark hair. His hand reached over to touch her chin and she smiled softly as she looked down at him.

“I love you,” Peeta told her. “You know that, right? Just you—Katniss Everdeen.”

“I know,” Katniss replied and placed her chin on his chest so she could meet his eyes. “You know everything I ever did was to find you again—to bring me to your side. I’m not going anywhere now. You’re stuck with me.”

“Good. We’ll make it official one day.”

Katniss grinned at him. “Then what?”

“Maybe you can pop out a baby or two,” he joked.

She raised her eyebrows. “We’ll probably have to have sex one day for that to happen.”

They had considered it last night, but their talk, along with the kiss, had left them overwhelmed.

Instead, he tucked her into his bed and she tugged his hand so he would join her.

“When the time is right,” Peeta said. He looked at the clock. “We have to meet the others.”

“Okay.” She laid her head back, pressing her ear against his chest. “Just a few more minutes.”

Peeta ran his hand down her hair as she rested against him. The quietness of it—and having her with him was all he ever wanted.

He closed his eyes contentedly and surrendered himself to a half-conscious state. He didn’t know how much time passed, nor did Peeta feel her move away until her lips brushed his ears.

“I love you, Peeta Mellark,” she whispered.

Opening his own eyes, he found himself staring at the almond shaped grey of hers.

The air shifted around them and his hands went to her hips, guiding her over him. Katniss pulled her shirt over her head and tossed onto the ground, her mouth immediately finding his.

This kiss was different from last night—this one was asking for something more. Peeta looked up at her, his hands sliding up her waist until each one cupped a breast. His thumbs grazed her nipples and she moaned quietly to herself.

“I’ve never done this before,” he told her.

“Neither have I.” Katniss shifted to her knees so she could slide off the boxers she wore. She leaned down and kissed him softly. “Because I’ve been waiting for you.”

“I’m sure that you know more than me,” he replied.

God, he was hard and it made his thought process unfocused.

Not to mention there was a naked Katniss straddling him.

She watched him for a moment, then slowly moved herself off him. “You’re nervous.”

“Aren’t you?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied carefully. “I’m not ashamed to want you, though. Can’t you see?”

Peeta focused on her eyes and he could see a fear behind them that he was rejecting her.

He sat up. “I see, but I don’t want it to be like this. Not in this garage—not when we have to rush.”

Katniss nodded after a moment. “Okay, we’ll wait.”

“You should get ready,” he said and took a deep breath. “Give me a few minutes.”

Her eyes went to his tented boxers and without hesitation, Katniss reached under the elastic to grip his cock. Slowly, she caressed the shaft and he tensed at the sensation of her hand on him.

“Look at me.”

He met her eyes as she pulled off his boxers. Then her mouth was on him—kissing the tip as her hand moved up and down his aching shaft. When she moved her lips off of him, she sat up and began to focus her caress on just the head of his cock.

His hips moved in motion with her hand and she leaned down to kiss him. Her tongue massaged him gently – he couldn’t get enough of her.

Katniss was ravenous and her mouth sought his out hungrily as she moved her hand. He felt the familiar tingle of his orgasm approaching.

Pulling away, he looked at her desperately. “I’m going to come.”

“I’ve got you,” she replied with a smile. “Touch me.”

His hands reached for her breasts, teasing her nipples until they were hard. She moaned into his mouth when he pinched a peaked nipple.

She ripped her mouth away, her eyes frantic. “Peeta…”

Pulling her close, his mouth went to her nipple, sucking greedily and when he bit it—Katniss fell apart, the sounds of her orgasm filling the room.

And in a white hot rush, he was coming, calling out her name as he did.

She laid back on the mattress, breathless. “We’re going to be late, aren’t we?”

“Yeah.”

++++++

“So what took you so long?” Haymitch asked as they drove towards their old foster home.

“Overslept,” Peeta replied easily and met Katniss’ eyes in the rearview mirror.

She winked.

“Bullshit,” Gale said from the backseat. He sat next to Katniss. The Chevelle had very little space, so he was a little too close to Katniss for Peeta’s liking. “Little Catnip here looks like she hasn’t slept at all.”

“Katniss,” she corrected. “You’re just as irritating as I remember.”

“Do you still shoot?” Gale asked.

At the home, Katniss had taken a liking to archery and she was good. Haymitch had set up a target for her against one of their aging trees. She would spend her Sundays just shooting—Effie told him that it helped her demons.

“She’s a perfect shot,” Peeta said as he made a turn off the road.

In front of them stood an aging cream house—their old home. Peeta parked the car and turned to Haymitch.

“Is it done?” Haymitch asked.

“She did it,” Peeta replied before opening his door.

 Moving his seat, he held out his hand to Katniss and helped her out of the car. He closed the door before Gale could get out.

“Jealous, much?” She smiled up at him and squeezed his hand.

He didn’t respond. Instead, Peeta lifted her hand to place a kiss on her knuckles.

Turning, they looked at the house that they had grown up in—the place where they learned to love each other and their makeshift family.

“I feel like I’m ten again,” Katniss said as they stared up.

They heard the sound of the door opening and Annie stepped out of the house, along with the three children that Haymitch still had.

The boy was tall and his coloring was similar to both Gale and Katniss; he stood awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. Beside him was a pretty mocha-skinned girl with dark eyes; she was the smallest of the bunch. She held hands with a yellow-haired girl with clear blue eyes and two braids that fell onto her shoulders.

Katniss gasped. “She looks like my mother.” He turned to see her cloudy eyes and kissed her forehead. She had never mentioned her mother before, even when they were children.

Finnick and Johanna came out of the house holding soda bottles. They handed the first three to the kids. The little trio walked out to the yard to hang out under the shade of the tree. The blonde met Peeta’s eyes and he gave her a smile before she ran off to join her friends.

“I think Prim likes you,” Haymitch remarked as he walked up to Peeta and Katniss. “You look like you could’ve been her brother.”

“Yeah, we do look alike,” Peeta responded. “Where’s she from?”

“No one knows. Just dumped by some tree as a baby when some miners found her.” Haymitch looked over at the porch where everyone else sat. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Together they walked to the front porch and Peeta felt a lump begin to form in the back of his throat. Memories with all of them flooded his mind and he half expected Effie to come charging out of the house in fuchsia flip flops, a crop checkered tank and torn jeans.

Katniss squeezed his hand, bringing him back to reality and led him to one of the porch chairs.

Then she sat on his lap.

“Aren’t you two cozy?” Johanna remarked as she leaned against the porch rails.

“This reunion was a long time coming,” Katniss replied and then turned to Haymitch. “So what’s going on?”

“I don’t have very long,” Haymitch said. “Snow’s given me a month to get up and out. The kids will be sent away the same day,” he sighed. “What I don’t understand is why he would want this place. Effie said that he’s been after this place for years ever since her daddy bought the property.”

“I’ve been looking at some files,” Johanna supplied. “He has property in other places, too. Places that aren’t even livable or single pieces of land like this one. I mean, what the hell?”

“There must something that we’re not seeing,” Gale mused. He looked over at the Johanna. “What’s one of the places that he owns?”

“A cave in District Four,” Johanna replied.

Annie shuddered from the place where she stood. She had been from District Four.

“I’ve been there,” she said quietly. “A long time ago—“

Annie closed her eyes.

Finnick went to her.  “What do you remember?”

“It was dark,” Annie recalled. “He took me there once—on a sunny day. The cave doesn’t end and it only gets darker as you keep walking. If you got lost, then you didn’t bother—you waited to die in that cave.” She opened her eyes again. “It was the last time I saw the ocean before—“

She met Finnick’s eyes briefly before moving to sit on the porch steps. Annie didn’t face them for the rest of the meeting.

“Okay…” Gale looked over at Haymitch. “I think the first thing we need to do is find out why Snow wants this place so badly. It’s leverage—we can bargain with him if we know what he wants.”

“I’ll keep looking,” Johanna said after a moment. “I brought my computer and was able to throw the Capitol system off so my signal can’t be traced.”

“Can we stay over?” Annie asked suddenly. “I don’t feel like leaving. I’ve missed it here.”

Haymitch sat next to her on the porch steps. “Of course! I was about to ask, anyway.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Hey, Katniss.” Gale walked over. “Haymitch said he still has his old set—want to shoot?” He shot Peeta a smirk—he always liked to bait him.

“Sure,” Katniss replied and stood up. She turned to plant a kiss on Peeta’s lips before joining Gale.

“That tease,” Finnick said, walking over to Peeta. “You two look happy.”

“We are—as happy as we can be, anyway.”

“So why were you late?” Peeta turned to see Finnick grinning at him.

“Just getting reacquainted.”

“Is that what they call it now?”

“Shut up.”

++++++

“What are you doing?”

Prim looked up at him before looking back at the soil. He got on his knees beside her and watched her run her hands through the dirt.

They were a few yards away from the house, past where the trees grew and where the dirt looked like coarse coffee grounds.

“Nothing will grow here,” she said quietly. Prim looked down at the ground once more. “I always wanted a garden.”

He ran his hand through the ground. It felt the same, but there was something else about it. He couldn’t quite place it. Peeta grabbed a bit of the soil in his hand and sniffed.

He looked over at Prim. “I think you’re right. There is something about this dirt that’s strange.” He sat back on the ground and turned to her.

“Your name is Primrose, right?” She nodded. “How old are you?”

“You can call me Prim. I just turned ten,” she replied. “Haymitch got me a cake. He tried to make me one, but ended up burning the thing.” Prim smiled to herself. “I would’ve eaten it anyway. No one’s ever made me a cake.”

“I can bake,” Peeta said. “Not much, but I think I could make a simple cake. We can try to make one tomorrow.”

“You’ll be here?”

“All of us will,” he replied.

“Good. Haymitch needs some grown-up company,” Prim said as she ran her hands through the dirt again. She looked over at Katniss, who was shooting arrows at the old tree she used to practice on. “Is she your girlfriend?”

“Something like that.”

“What does that mean?” Prim asked him curiously. “That guy likes her—“ she cocked her head over and he turned to see Gale talking to Katniss. “You should figure out your feelings.”

“You’re an old soul, Prim,” he remarked. Peeta looked over at Gale and Katniss again. This time, he was helping her aim and one of his hands was placed on her waist.

Peeta felt the jealousy rising in his chest, but took a deep breath to quell it.

This is how he got in trouble before—for wanting what seemed out of reach.

“Do you want some lemonade?” Prim asked him suddenly. “Rue and I made some.”

She stood up and held out her hand.

Peeta nodded before taking it and let her lead him into the house.

++++++

“Something in the way she moves… attracts me like no other lover…”

Katniss lifted her head from his shoulder and smiled. “So you’re a singer, too?”

“Just seemed like the right song to sing for the moment,” he told her.

She laid her head back on his shoulder and he touched the tip of her braid as they sat on the rocking porch seat. Once in a while, Katniss’ bare foot would reach down to push them.

It was warm that evening. It was perfect.

“I saw you watching me,” she said after a moment. “With Gale.”

Peeta remained silent—he didn’t want to get into it. He hated being petty and jealous. It wasn’t like him. Not like he wanted to be.

“You have to trust me,” Katniss told him. “Or this isn’t going to work.”

“I do trust you,” he replied. “I just can’t help it sometimes. I’ve always been like this—always wanting something that I don’t deserve.” Peeta looked at her. “I did some bad things when I wasn’t with you and I’m not proud of them. It was because I was jealous. There might always be a voice in my head telling me that I’m not good enough.”

“What have you done?” Katniss turned to him.

She looked around and held out her pinky. He hooked his own with hers. They did this as kids as a promise to never tell anything that was said at the moment.

“I needed money,” he told her. “I wanted to buy the garage, so I started stealing for this guy in the Capitol. Heavensbee.”

“I know him,” she replied. “Total cock.”

“He wanted this set of rare coins from some crazy lady but she wouldn’t give them up,” Peeta said. “They belonged to her dad and she had no other family left—so he hired me to steal them.”

“Did you do it?”

He nodded, trying to stop his eyes from burning.

“It was the worst thing I ever did. Every day, I passed her house after I took them and she would just sit on the porch like she was waiting for something.” Peeta ran a hand through his hair. “I used the money to buy the garage and when I made enough to pay her back—“

Peeta paused and although he tried to stop it from happening, the tears came anyway.  He buried his face in his hands, ashamed, and from deep within him came the sharp voice of his mother screaming. Then the pain in his wrist—

“Peeta,” Katniss pulled his hands from his face and he ripped himself away from her.

“She killed herself! The woman jumped off the roof of her house—she had no family and I took the one piece that she had left of one! I did that!” He looked at her. “Because I wanted too much; I needed to be something, even if it wasn’t much.”

“You listen to me,” she said suddenly. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Everyone makes choices and this woman made the wrong one. We couldn’t control what happened to us, but we did what we had to do to survive.”

Katniss pulled him into her arms. “You are the one person that tried to make good. You’ve always tried to do what was right and that’s why I love you. I’m halfway to falling in love with you, if there is such a thing.”

Peeta rested his head against her chest, listening to the rapid beats and took a deep breath. He held her, trying to assure himself that this was all real.

Finally, he sat up and met her eyes. “There is such a thing.”

Her mouth softened into a smile and she kissed him.

The front door banged open and Haymitch approached them. “Y’all okay?”

His eyes focused on Peeta’s flushed face.

“We’re fine,” Peeta assured their foster father.

“That dress looks nice on you, Katniss.” Haymitch gave her a gruff smile. “Effie always said that you looked your best in blue. She would’ve been happy that you’re wearing her favorite dress.”

“It was always my favorite, too,” she replied as she fingered the skirt of the deep blue dress. “I think it was because it was the same shade as her eyes—and of his.” Katniss jerked her head in Peeta’s direction.

Haymitch had distributed Effie’s things to the three women. Annie had her comb sets, Johanna was given her books and Katniss was given her clothes. Everything that Katniss usually wore was made for her other persona—so she had nothing that was just hers until now.

Rue and Prim were given her drawing books; Effie used to sketch flowers when she could find them and the girls loved to peek at the books whenever they could.

“So I thought you two could stay in our room,” Haymitch said to them. “I don’t sleep there anyway. I usually stay in the office. I haven’t been able to stay there since—“ he stopped for a moment. “Anyway, I had Finnick and Rory flip the mattress. Annie changed the sheets, so whenever you two get tired…”

“You didn’t have to do this, Haymitch,” Katniss told him.

He shook his head. “Effie always believed in you two. Just take care of each other, okay?”

“Always,” Peeta told him simply.

The older man bid them goodnight before heading off to have a drink in his office.

“Real nice of them, don’t you think?” Katniss remarked when they were alone.

“Yes, very.”

They looked out into the vast brown ground that stood before them. Peeta sniffed the air—there it was again.

“I smell it, too.”

They turned to see Prim standing by their seat. “Just wanted to say goodnight—and I’m really happy that you’re both here.”

Even with the dim porch light, they could see the rosy blush fill her cheeks.

“Thanks, Prim,” Peeta replied and got up to give her a kiss on the cheek. “We’re happy to be here.”

The little girl gave him a quick hug before she went to Katniss and sat next to her.

“I was wondering if you could teach me how to braid my hair—like yours,” Prim asked shyly. “It’s really pretty.”

Katniss shook her head. “Your hair is beautiful. It reminds me of my mother’s and she was the most beautiful woman in the District. At least, that’s what my Dad said,” she replied. “In the morning, just come to our room and I’ll fix your hair—bring Rue if you want.”

Prim nodded excitedly before throwing her arms around Katniss in a quick hug, then jumping up to go inside. “Good night!”

“I think she likes you,” he told her.

“She’s sweet,” Katniss replied.

Peeta sniffed. There it was again.

The wind shifted and he found himself walking towards the same spot where he stood with Prim that afternoon.

Closing his eyes, his mind brought him back to an old memory of him in the same spot with his foster mother.

_“Why did your Dad buy this place?” he asked Effie. “Nothing grows here.”_

_“We have some trees over there,” she replied and put an arm around him. “I don’t really know why Daddy picked this place. He put up one hell of a fight over it, though. Would be a shame to just sell it off. Plus, there’s a lot of room for you to run around here—but not in this part. Stinks in this spot—like gas or something.”_

It wasn’t gas.

He grabbed some soil and sniffed.

It was petroleum.

Now he knew why Snow wanted this place so badly.

* * *

 This is long, I know.

I foresee that this will only be seven chapters plus the epilogue. They will be about this same length, since I have so much ground to cover.

Hope you’re enjoying so far. Cheese buns to those who do!

I’m contemplating just having this all through Peeta’s POV, but I do like Haymitch too. I find that I enjoy writing more from the male perspective than female.

“Mizuage” is the coming of age for an apprentice geisha. Besides the changing of the hairstyle, there would be a ‘mizuage patron’ who would pay to take the geisha’s virginity. I’ve read a few books describing this ceremony, but it seemed like a Snow thing, trying to start a bidding war for Katniss.

You’re probably wondering about Cato. You’ll see in the next chapter.

**Songs:**

“Simple Song”-The Shins

“Undiscovered”-James Morrison

“Something”-The Beatles

Reviews or feedback, asks on Tumblr and e-mail messages are always appreciated.

Till next time, JLaLa


	3. Part Three: Revenge

Thank you for so much for reading! It’s awesome to hear your suggestions and feedback!

The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.

Thank you to Chelzie, beta extraordinaire, who deals with my gibberish.

Lazy

Part Three: Revenge

_“Ain’t that the tradition?” Haymitch asked as he walked her over the threshold of the house. “You’re supposed to carry the bride into the house?”_

_“I don’t think it meant over your shoulder,” Effie replied with a giggle as she poked his lower back. “You can put me down now.”_

_Haymitch swatted her bottom through the fluffy skirt of her dress before placing her gently on the feet. She stood before him in her sleeveless white tea-length dress with a tulip skirt and matching kitten heels. Perched on top of her golden hair was a fascinator with delicate netting that swept over her blue eyes._

_She was beautiful. He always thought so._

_Haymitch hated to admit, especially to Effie (since she would tease him) that he had fallen for her the moment he first saw her._

_He was working in a local bar when she had come in—hair up in a messy bun, ripped jeans caked in dirt with a tight gingham top—and demanded a cold beer._

_She’d had a hard day trying to fix up the mess of the house that her ailing father left her in charge of._

_He nearly dropped the glass he was cleaning at first sight._

_When Haymitch agreed to help out for some extra cash, he didn’t know that he would end up becoming her personal slave._

_Effie was bossy and demanding—she’d nitpick over every little thing. If he painted a wall wrong, she was on him about the proper brush direction or how he needed to wait until the primer was dry._

_It was during a particular fight over why he had placed some stupid canisters against the outside storage wall that he lost it._

_Haymitch finally yelled back at her—the words ‘heinous bitch’ might’ve slipped out a couple of times._

_He found himself pressed against that wall with her mouth against his and his hands in her hair._

_And he was a goner._

_“You okay there, sweetheart?”_

_Haymitch looked up to see Effie smiling shyly at him._

_“I just can’t believe that you’re my wife,” he found himself saying._

_“Come here.” Haymitch went to her and Effie took his hand, pulling him close. “You’re mine now—always.”_

_“Always,” he agreed._

_“And I’ll fill this house with children,” she promised._

_“Not too many.” Haymitch smiled into her neck and he could feel her laugh against him._

_“Just six or seven.”_

_“You’ll be the death of me, woman!”_

_“Hardly,” Effie replied simply and pulled away from him with a grin. “If I haven’t killed you by now—you must be invincible.”_

_His hand went to her face and he lifted her chin so that she would meet his eyes._

_“I’m only invincible because you’re with me.”_

_And he meant it._

_“Dance with me, Haymitch,” she asked suddenly. “I just want to do one thing that’s traditional.”_

_They had married on a spur of the moment decision. His proposal had been clumsy at best and she had yelled at him for not getting down on one knee._

_Then she accepted before knocking him onto the grass that they laid their picnic on._

_“Okay, but there’s no music.”_

_Effie shook her head before heading to the opposite side of the sitting room. Crouching down under an old chair, she pulled out a small case with a handle. Placing it on the table in front of the chair, she opened it to reveal a small music player._

_She pressed the play button and the sounds of a slow guitar filled the room._

_Effie clapped her hands excitedly before rushing over to him. “Come on now! I want a dance with my husband!”_

_Haymitch obliged, wrapping an arm around her waist and taking her hand. Effie placed her other hand on his shoulder, resting her head against his chest as they swayed in comfortable silence, listening to the song._

**_“You ended up so with that person who comes home too late from the bar_ **   
**_I ended up so when my courage could finally walk on its own_ **   
**_When I finally opened the door…”_ **

_“You’ve made me so damn happy, Haymitch.”_

++++++

“I'm opening the heart door, letting in the light…opening the heart door and giving life to me that died…”

Haymitch opened his eyes, adjusting to the bright light filtering through the dirty window of his office.

How long had he been asleep?

Turning his head from where he laid on the couch, Haymitch found Johanna sitting in front of the computer that she had set up on his desk.

His wedding song played softly through the connected speakers as Johanna softly sang the words and he watched as she scanned the computer screen before jotting down notes onto a legal pad.

She looked tired and unkempt—he was sure that she hadn’t slept.

“How long have you been here?” Haymitch finally asked, his voice still rough with sleep.

Johanna looked up and gave him a small smile. “Morning. Not long – maybe an hour or so.”

He sat up and moved his head from side to side, cracking his neck. “You didn’t sleep until two—you were too busy smoking cigarettes in the back with Gale!”

“I’m not a child anymore, Haymitch,” she replied as she rolled her eyes. “Haven’t been one since the day I came to you and Effie.”

“Doesn’t stop me from worrying,” he told her. Johanna nodded acceptingly; her eyes, however, were happy at the thought of him caring. “You remember that song?”

“Of course, Effie would tell us all about your wedding dance.” She pulled her legs up and hugged them to her chest in his large chair. Resting her chin on her knees, her eyes were soft as she focused on the memory. “We ate it up, too—except for Katniss—because apparently romance was bullshit to her.” Johanna met his eyes. “Was it all real? Everything she said?”

Haymitch thought of that day; it had been the only time he ever danced.

When it was over, Effie had led him to the bedroom of their home and – well, Johanna had found those pictures.

“It was real,” he said after a quiet, painful moment. “I have it in my memories.”

“And in photos,” Johanna laughed when he glared at her. “Don’t worry, I never told anyone, but Effie was a wild one.”

Haymitch grinned in remembrance. “She sure was.”

“Yuck.”

They heard a low groan from the ceiling above them and Johanna shook her head.

“Speaking of gross things—Katniss is a lot more vocal than I thought.”

++++++

Peeta ran his hands up the sides of her thighs, drawing a low, slow moan from Katniss.

“What are you doing?” She sprawled an arm over her eyes to cover them from the morning light. Lifting it slightly, she smiled seeing him at the foot of their bed knelt before her, his hands on the band of her lace shorts.

“Waking you up,” he replied as he began to pull them down. She complied, lifting her hips.

Peeta loved her legs—long and tanned—and he remembered when she was gangly during their adolescence. She caught his attention even then.

He prayed for his body to grow taller and stronger so she would notice him.

When he was twelve, thanks to a growth spurt and Effie’s care, his prayers were answered. He wasn’t muscular like Gale nor handsome like Finnick, but Peeta was taller than her and content with that.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked as she pushed herself up on her elbows. “I saw something change in your eyes.”

Peeta lifted a leg over his shoulder, kissing her shin. “Lay back and I’ll tell you.” She fell backwards, letting her hair fan out against the cream pillow behind her. “I was thinking about when we were kids and I spent two years praying that I would get bigger so you would notice me.”

“I noticed you,” she replied softly. “I could see everything in your eyes—every emotion, every thought, every pain. Johanna would make fun of me because I stared so much. She couldn’t understand why I was so focused on the ‘the little one.’”

“Ouch.” Peeta placed her leg down. “That’s still not easy to hear.”

Katniss drew her legs up, her feet flat on the mattress, entrapping him between her open thighs and grinned at him.

“I was so awkward,” she said. “I wished I was petite like Annie and I wished for her green eyes.”

“Why?”

Peeta went flat on his abdomen as he parted her thighs. His mouth went to her inner thigh, placing a gentle kiss on it before doing the same to the other side. She sighed and reached a hand into his hair, gently massaging his blond locks.

“You seemed obsessed with the color green,” Katniss answered. “You would sketch leaves using every single shade of the color. I wanted to be small like Annie so we would be the same, and I wanted her eyes so you would see me.”

“I saw you,” he told her huskily, his eyes fixated on her open before him. Peeta could see her folds glistening before him and when he caught her scent—he felt the pleasurable twinge in his groin.

He met her eyes. “I used green because it’s your favorite color.”

Peeta’s mouth went to her wet slit and she moaned as she arched into him. “Really?”

His tongue flattened against her, moving slowly up to her clit so he could draw circles against it. Katniss writhed against him as her hands went back to his hair. Her tugs weren’t painful—jolts of pleasure rushed through him whenever she did, making him desperate to be inside her.

He knew that they would wait until he could put a ring on her finger – after they destroyed Snow.

Instead, Peeta took his index finger, slowly entering her as he looked up at her flushed body. She had thrown off the tank she wore at one point so he could see all of her—her rosy, hard nipples, her smooth abdomen and the small scar to the side of it from when she had accidentally scraped herself against some barbed wire in the outside storage as a kid.

“Really,” he replied as he inserted a second finger into her wet cavern. He shivered at feeling of her clenching around him as he caressed her. “You wore your olive jacket all the time in the spring. In the winter, you were always in the dark green sweater that Effie knit for you—even when it didn’t fit right.”

He distinctly remembered that winter it stopped fitting her.

It was the winter that Haymitch had ‘the talk’ with him after he had woken up in a cold sweat, moaning her name.

“Peeta…” she moaned, pulling him out of his reverie. “Faster—please…”

He met her eyes and grinned. “Since you said please.”

His mouth moved over her clit, sucking on her flesh as she fucked his fingers.

Soon, the occupants of the house would be waking up – if they hadn’t, then she would be giving them one hell of a wake-up call.

As he felt her beginning to tighten around him, Peeta bent his fingers, pushing against the spongy tissue while his tongue drew around her button. He had read about it once when he broke into an old library—it was supposed to be some spot that caused intense pleasure.

Peeta liked to experiment, so he curled his fingers once more to see what would happen—and she fell apart, arching her hips with his mouth still on her.

Yanking the pillow out from under her, Katniss moved it over her face, shattering as her orgasm hit. He heard her murmuring his name as her body began to relax.

Throwing the pillow aside, she looked down at him, her chest rising and falling as she recovered.

“You know I only started wearing that sweater more when you woke up the entire house screaming my name.”

He sat up, still tasting her on his lips and smiled.

“You know you made Effie think that the washing machine was broken by shrinking it.”

Crawling over to her side, he grabbed the pillow that she tossed and laid his head down. Her head joined his on the pillow and her finger reached over to trace his chin.

“Don’t you wish that we could just turn back time?” she asked softly. “We could’ve told each other how we felt sooner.”

“I think it was better that we were friends first,” Peeta replied. “It made us stronger.”

She kissed him softly, then pulled away to look into his eyes. “I love you.”

Peeta cupped her cheek. “I love you back.”

Katniss smiled once more before sitting up, “I’d better wash up before the girls come.”  He nodded, closing his eyes and began imagining a life where he would wake and listen to her prepare for the day.

Before he knew it, she was rousing him with a soft kiss tasting of peppermint toothpaste.

Their eyes met and he reached behind the nape of her neck. “Are you up for another round?”

Her eyes were clouded with longing and Katniss gave him an eager nod when they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Peeta groaned, “I’d better get up anyway—I’ll just shower while you ladies do your thing.”

Giving Katniss one more kiss, he hopped out of the bed, grabbed some clean clothes, and went into the open door next to the small closet that was once Effie’s. 

The master bathroom was the only luxury the house afforded. Haymitch had broken down a wall so his wife could have one. Peeta, along with the two other boys, helped him the spring that he turned thirteen. It was a present for their wedding anniversary.

Haymitch could definitely be a romantic when he wanted to.

The clawed bathtub and marbled sink had been a bitch to carry in, but it had been worth it when they saw Effie’s excited face.

Turning on the shower, Peeta looked around and caught the subtle changes. Tucked in the corner, he saw a shower chair that he was sure Effie used when she had become too weak. On the counter were different painkillers that she was taking to help with her discomfort.

Peeta felt his eyes water—his poor mama. How she had suffered—the need to make this Snow pay grew even stronger inside him.

Removing his clothes, he stepped into the tub, letting the warm spray ease his aching muscles. The bed was old and the springs hit at certain spots, but Katniss curled up against him more than made up for it.

As he washed up, Peeta went over everything. He knew it was likely that that Cato’s body had been found. While it was unnecessary for him to die, he considered it their warning to Snow—he had helped in taking their mother and Katniss had disposed of his dearest nephew.

And he had hit Katniss, and likely more than just the one time he saw. The fucker deserved it.

When he was finished, Peeta quickly changed into his old jeans and black t-shirt. As he brushed his teeth, Peeta could hear the chatter from behind the door—the girls were there.

Finishing up, Peeta opened the door--the scene before him made his heart leap into his throat.

Katniss and Prim were perched by the window of their room while Rue sat at the vanity, playing with the old makeup brushes. He watched his girl comb Prim’s hair gently so that she could properly plait it. Prim smiled brightly as Katniss said something quietly to her.

He wondered if this was how things would be if they had children.

The image of Katniss holding a little baby appeared in his mind—it seemed at one point to be an unattainable dream, yet now it was within his grasp.

They just had to follow the plan.

“Am I interrupting?”

The girls turned to look at him. Prim smiled brightly while Rue bowed her head shyly.

“Nope, I just finished cleaning up and was just going to get started on the girls’ hair,” Katniss told him with a smile. She was wearing a white tank top with a pair of torn jeans—her hair was messily piled on top of her head and her feet were bare.

How she managed to make him breathless was always beyond him.

He nodded and went over to give her a quick kiss.

“I’m going to go talk to Haymitch; you look pretty.” The younger girls giggled and Katniss blushed as he pulled away.

“Thanks,” she stammered out and he winked before walking out the door.

++++++

“Holy shit!” Johanna dropped the piece of toast that she was holding in her hand. It fell to the hardwood floor—jam side down.

Annie, who was sitting on the couch next to Haymitch, rushed over and picked it up off the floor to place it back on Johanna’s plate.

She began wiping vigorously—a telltale side that her anxiety was flaring up.

Finnick, who stood by the window, went to her, kneeling so he could place a hand over hers. “Stop.”

Annie sat back on the floor, sweat beading on her forehead, and took a deep breath before returning to the couch.

“What happened?” Haymitch asked after he made sure that Annie was okay.

“Snow’s nephew is dead,” Johanna said as she read the article on the screen. “Single shot to the back of the head.”

“Katniss is ruthless,” Gale remarked from where he sat on the floor, rolling a cigarette between his fingers. “I like that.”

“Sometimes you just need the love of a good man to get the fire burning,” Johanna replied with a smirk. She was aware of the crush that Gale harbored—he had admitted to it as they each smoked their fifth cigarette. “Peeta must have done something right while they were in her private room.”

There was a knock on the door and Peeta entered. “Morning.”

“Morning,” Johanna greeted him. “Where’s Katniss?”

“She’s upstairs with Prim and Rue,” he informed them. “She’ll be down after she’s done.” Peeta looked over at Haymitch. “I didn’t want to bother you last night, but there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

The older man nodded. “What’s going on?”

“Do you think that it’s possible that there’s oil on this property?”

“Why would you think something like that?” Haymitch asked. He had looked over the property papers after Effie’s death. There had been inspections but nothing like that came up.

“Nothing will grow past the trees in the yard because the soil is weird—and there’s a smell,” Peeta recounted. “Like the oil that I use for the cars—it’s so strong. I remember telling Effie when I was a kid that it smelled in that area.”

“It would make sense,” Johanna supplied. “Oil rising over time can cause the area around it to become unmanageable. If Effie’s dad knew about it—he would’ve likely tried to cover it up. Papers can be forged or favors can be bought.”

“It would also be the reason why Snow wants this place so much,” Gale added. “How would we test for it?”

“There are machines we can use that can detect that kind of thing,” Finnick informed them. “I know a woman whose husband is an inspector. He would be gone for days looking over a property if they suspected something as valuable as oil on a property.”

“How would we get one of those machines here without anyone suspecting?” Gale asked.

“We’ll just have to find another way,” Haymitch told them.

“I can create something.”

Haymitch turned to the girl next to him and she met his gaze. He could see it all whirling in her eyes—the formulas she was pulling from that highly organized brain of hers. It was both scary and interesting to watch—because Annie would become practically robotic when she was like this.

She pushed emotion out to make way for more important information. He feared that if she wasn’t careful, she might destroy herself in the process.

“Something that could indicate oil just using the first surface of it—digging would be too suspicious.” Annie got up. “I need to write all of this down—my notebook is in the kitchen.”

She went to the door, ripping it open quickly and almost knocking down Katniss as she made a turn to go in the kitchen.

“What the hell was that?”

“Annie-bot,” Johanna quipped.

Finnick glared at her. “Not funny.” He walked out the door in pursuit.

“Morning, sunshine,” Haymitch greeted the girl, noticing her outfit. “Effie was wearing those jeans the day I met her.”

Katniss smiled, playing with the tip of her braid. “Really?”

“Then she yelled at me for not for giving her a beer fast enough.”

“Sounds like Effie.” The girl went over to where Peeta stood and wrapped an arm around his waist. They walked over to where he sat, Katniss taking the spot Annie had occupied. Peeta sat on the floor, resting his back against her legs. “So what were you talking about?”

“Loverboy was telling us that he thought that there was oil on the property,” Gale told her, his eyes going to the rip where her knee was.

“Interesting.” She ran a hand through Peeta’s hair, grasping just slightly before letting go. Haymitch caught the faint blush hitting the side of the boy’s cheeks. She leaned down to meet Peeta’s eyes. “Was that why you were out there for so long?”

“The way the breeze was hitting me—it was like someone was trying to tell me something,” Peeta replied softly. “And I remembered Effie telling me about how her dad fought hard to keep this place.”

“Maybe it was her,” Haymitch replied softly.

“I think it was,” Johanna agreed with a smile. “I’m going to keep working on this. It’s likely there’s something that I’m just not seeing.”

Gale got up from the floor and went over to his friend. “Let me see what you’ve got.” Johanna handed him some papers. “I’m itching for a smoke—let’s go look at these in the back.”

“Those will kill you, you know,” Haymitch warned. He met Gale’s tired eyes that glanced over at Katniss before flitting back to him.

He felt for the boy—unrequited feelings weren’t easy.

They were especially more difficult when it came to wanting Katniss, who wasn’t attainable at all—her heart had always belonged to Peeta and vice-versa. Haymitch knew little of her story after she left them, but he knew that she had spent her time trying to get Peeta to find her—making sacrifices in the process.

Now that they found each other, there was no letting go.

When the time came, he knew he would watch them marry.

Just like Effie had predicted.

“I’m hoping they will,” Gale joked.

“That’s not funny,” Katniss said suddenly, her eyes stony. “My dad died of lung disease.”

She never talked about her family. It had been a hard story for even Haymitch to hear. Her mother had gone off the deep end after Katniss’ father passed.

She tried to drown herself with her daughter at her side. She would have been successful if Katniss hadn’t managed to untie the rope that was knotted around her ankles. He shivered at the thought.

“Sorry, I didn’t know.”

Katniss stood up as Peeta rose to follow her. Haymitch watched her gears switch—her hips moved a little slower as she approached Gale; her steps becoming elegantly sensual.

She was suddenly ‘The Mockingjay’— and it was strange to see the change.

Katniss could go from simple country gal to coldhearted sexpot in only seconds.

She stood before Gale, her eyes meeting his and Haymitch could see the boy swallow nervously. Johanna stood by the desk, watching in anticipation to see what would happen.

“Why do you care so little for your life?” Katniss hissed. “We’ve had so many people taken from us but we’re here for a reason—our hearts beat for something. Do you know how it feels to have to fight for your life? DO YOU?”

Her face was only inches from his.

Gale shook his head and tilted his head a little lower towards her mouth.  “Do you?”

The room was suddenly thick with anxiety.

Katniss stepped back, her eyes watering as the mask crumbled before them. “Yes.”

She reached behind her, searching for Peeta’s hand and found it immediately. He pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back as she shook.

“I’m here, baby,” Peeta told her quietly.

He looked up at Gale, his kind blue eyes now full of cold anger.

“Fight for your shitty life.”

Haymitch finally stood up. “Peeta, why don’t you go outside with her for a while? I’ll make lunch with Annie in a few minutes and bring it out to you.” He looked over at Johanna. “Take Gale to the back and go over those papers.”

“Yes, sir,” Johanna said, giving him a mock salute. She took the shell-shocked Gale by the arm and led him out of the room. “You really shouldn’t have fucked with her…”

Haymitch went to the couple.  “You okay there?”

Katniss pulled away from Peeta and turned to him. “I’m okay.” Her eyes were still glistening, however.  “Bad memories.” A hand gripped Peeta’s shoulder. “I need a few minutes.”

“You know if you ever want to talk—or see your file,” he told her. “I’m here.”

The girl nodded absently and Peeta met his eyes worriedly as they turned to walk out.

“Go on,” he instructed, “We’ll see each other after everyone has cooled off.”

The couple walked out of the room and Haymitch listened to their heavy footsteps. The front door slammed behind them and he sat back on the couch.

He was so tired.

++++++

Peeta woke up with a start.

Their bedroom was dark and he felt for the soft, feminine body of Katniss only to find her side of the bed cold.

She was silent as they sat on the porch that afternoon—the only telltale sign she was in pain were the steady track of tears running down her cheeks. Prim, Rue and Rory watched them from the front yard as they swayed on the porch swing.

Haymitch and Annie came to them a little after that to offer sandwiches. Katniss looked blankly at them before lying back on his chest.

Peeta took one—just in case.

“You should eat something, Katniss,” Haymitch said sternly. He knelt before her, patting her leg. “Fight.”

She looked at him for a moment, her eyes searching her foster father’s before taking a sandwich from the plate that Annie held out.

“Go rest after you’re done,” Annie instructed before she and Haymitch retreated inside the house.

They ate in silence—he knew that she wasn’t ready to talk. Peeta could always read her like a book and she could do the same for him.

“Annie put something in our food,” he remarked when they finished. Katniss looked up at him and her eyes were already beginning to droop. “Come on.” He helped her stand before getting up himself.

Whatever Annie had given them was strong because he began to sway. If Rory hadn’t rushed over to help him while Prim and Rue propped Katniss up then they wouldn’t have made it upstairs. The three children were already dealing something that was way beyond their maturity level.

He recalled reaching for Katniss’ hand as they laid in bed—she gripped his tightly.

“I’m scared,” she whispered tiredly.

“Of what?”

“The nightmares—I’m afraid I’ll wake up and you won’t be here.”

He placed his hand against her chest, feeling her rushing heartbeat.

“Even when we were apart, I was here,” he told her, trying to fight the feeling of drowsiness over taking him. “When you wake up, I will be here. When we are done with all of this—the rest of my days belong to you—always.”

She smiled as her eyes began to close. “Always.”

He succumbed to whatever Annie had given them, falling into a deep sleep.

As Peeta sat up, he saw a light coming from the bathroom and the sound of the shower running. He stood up, walking to the door and knocked softly.

“Katniss?”

No response.

Opening the door, he was assaulted by a rush of steam. “Katniss?”  

He locked the door behind him and looked around—everything looked normal except for the fogginess of the room.

Pulling back the curtain, Peeta found her sitting in the tub with her arms wrapped around herself. Her hair clung to her body and she looked up at him in surprise.

“What’s going on?”

“I had a dream about my parents.”

He nodded before pulling his shirt over his head and unbuttoning his jeans. Stepping out of them, he peeled off his boxers, leaving him nude before her. “Move over.”

Katniss leaned forward in the tub to let him step in behind her. Resting against the back of the tub, Peeta wrapped his arms around her shoulders and laid her back against his chest. The spray of the shower hit her chest, flowing down her stomach and through the crevice of her thighs.

“He went quickly,” she recounted. “It was probably a month of him coughing up blood and she did what she could—but we woke up one day and he was already gone.” She shivered against him although the water was still hot. “For days, my mama didn’t speak and she didn’t feed me so I would try to scrounge up any kind of meal I could from our cupboards. When that was gone, I would walk through the woods looking for berries or mushrooms.”

Peeta tried to imagine this life that she was telling him about. When he had met her, she looked healthy and well adjusted. At that time, however, he was the runt of the group.

“One night, she woke me up and told me that we needed to go—I didn’t understand what she was saying. She wouldn’t even let me get dressed before we were running through the woods. I kept on asking her where we were going as we ran. Finally she stopped and turned to me—her eyes were blank. We were in front of a river.”

Katniss turned to look at him, the terror of that night in her eyes.

“She said we were going to meet my dad. I began to scream and she threw me down to the ground. She was already prepared—there were ropes and they were being tied around my ankles.”

“You don’t have to keep going,” he told her. “I don’t want to bring up anything that’s going to cause you nightmares.” Peeta couldn’t admit that what she was telling him was bringing him to tears—the spray of the shower kept them hidden.

“I think I need to,” she replied shakily. “Mom started pulling me into the water and I tried to fight, but the rope was connected to some rocks.” Katniss began to sob. “And I was sinking. I don’t know how long I was in the water for, but I remembered thinking that I would break my own ankle if I had to—I couldn’t breathe.”

“Then what?” Peeta felt chills trying to imagine the scene she was describing. It was a miracle that she was spared.

“Somehow, I loosened the ropes and began to swim toward the shore. I could see my mom’s hair floating in the river. The yellow of it was so bright against the dark water. Then I passed out.”

Katniss turned to him. “I told myself I would never be like them—I would never love like them. They were obsessed with one another—I don’t know how they only had one child.” She looked into his eyes for a moment. “I am like them though. I woke up and you were there, like you said—“

“And what?”

“I realized that if something were to happen to you, I don’t know what I’d do,” Her voice was choked. “I don’t think I would want to go on and it scares me to feel this way.”

“Nothing is going to happen to us,” he assured her. “I will protect you no matter what.” Peeta paused for a moment. “If something were to happen, then you will go on. There is a lot more love for you to share—even if it isn’t with me.”

“It doesn’t work that way, Mellark,” she replied sternly and held her pinkie out. “We’re in this together—ride or die.”

He hooked his pinkie with hers and brushed her lips softly. “Now there’s the girl I know and love.” He could see the fire in her eyes again. “You’re not your mother. We’re not them.”

Katniss nodded before placing her head on his chest. They remained silent and content in the moment.

There was a knock on the door.

“It’s Annie. If you want, there is dinner downstairs and we’ll be meeting in Haymitch’s office afterwards.”

“Thanks, Annie!” He called out to the closed door.

“You’re welcome – and sorry for giving you those sandwiches!”

++++++

“You didn’t come to dinner.”

Johanna turned away from the computer screen to look over at him at the doorway. She gave Haymitch a tired smile.

“I couldn’t go over the papers because I was busy trying to talk some sense into Gale,” she replied. “He’s so stupid sometimes.”

He placed a plate in front of her. “Eat.”

“I’m busy –“

“Five minutes, okay?” Haymitch took a deep breath to calm his nerves and pulled up the chair to sit beside her. “Just take five minutes to eat.”

She looked over at him before taking the fork and eating a piece of the roast that Annie had made.

“What did I miss?” Johanna asked as she chewed.

“It was just Annie and Finnick and the kids at dinner,” he informed her. “Gale spent his time out back but I had Rory bring him some food. Katniss and Peeta have been asleep since this afternoon—Annie apparently drugged them with her sandwiches and she might’ve given them too much.”

“What the fuck did she put in them?”

“A sedative of some sort—Katniss was catatonic outside.” Haymitch chuckled softly. “They’re okay, I guess. Annie checked on them and they were in the shower together.”

“Let’s hope that he doesn’t knock her up before this is all over,” Johanna said. “Though I don’t think they’ve done it—Peeta would be that kind of goofball romantic who would wait until the wedding night.”

“We need more of those in the world.” Haymitch glanced down at her filled legal pad. “Any luck?”

“This is the only property that Snow doesn’t own from my list.” She took her pad and read it out. “He owns the cave in District Four, some coal mines in District Twelve, a river in the middle region, and a small town up north near the Great Lakes.”

“Let’s assume,” he started. “That if there’s oil on this property, then there’s coal in District Twelve. It’s the other ones that I wonder about.”

Johanna slammed down the pad—her eyes flashing. “I hate this!” She stood up and began to pace. “Why can’t we find anything?”

He stood up and went to her, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her movements.

“What’s really going on?” Johanna bowed her head. “You seem more hell bent about this than all the others. You don’t sleep or eat—just nothing but research.”

“I spent my life losing everyone because of Snow and his men,” she spit out angrily. “They killed my family for fuck’s sake!  When I was in the Capitol—do you know how I was treated? I was smarter than all of them but because I was a woman – it was all worthless.”

She wiped her eyes. “They only accepted me after my initiation.”

His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

Johanna looked up at him. “It doesn’t matter, but I need to make them _pay_ for it.”

There was a knock against the doorframe—it was Annie. “Sorry for bothering you.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Haymitch replied with a soft smile. “Come in.”

“I was about to rest before the meeting when I remembered something,” she told them. “The reason why no one made it all the way down the cave—ice.”

“Ice?”

“They look like crystals underwater,” Annie said softly. “But it was toxic—you didn’t come out because you would suffocate.”

“Do you mean methane crystals?” Johanna asked suddenly. “As in gas?”

Annie shrugged. “I guess so.”

Johanna turned to Haymitch, her smile bright. “Don’t you get it?”

He shook his head. “Do I look like a damn encyclopedia? Can you please explain what the hell you’re talking about?”

 

But Johanna was already running out of the office to call everyone for their meeting.

Where was his flask when he needed it?

* * *

 

Song: “Heart Door”-Paula Cole with Dolly Parton

It really just gets a little more complicated from here.

Reviews, PM’s, and Tumblr asks are always welcome!

Thank you for reading, dolls!

-JLaLa


	4. Part Four: Indulgence

Thanks for all the feedback for this story! Hope you enjoy this next part!

The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.

Thank you to Chelzie for her awesome beta skills – she’s a doll!

Lazy

Part Four: Indulgence

“Your flask is in the top drawer of your desk,” Annie said as she sat down on the couch. “All the way in the back.”

Haymitch went to the desk and eagerly pulled open the drawer. Reaching his hand inside, he felt around until he made contact with the cool metal of his flask. The muscles in his body began to relax in anticipation as he pulled it out.

He could practically taste the whiskey on his lips.

From the corner of his eye, Haymitch spotted the small woman sitting on the couch watching him.

Annie had somehow managed to inherit Effie’s piercing stare.

It was the stare that had stopped him dead in his tracks the first time he saw his wife, and the one that got him to set up the play area for the kids when they were younger, or take out the garbage.

And apparently, the stare that stopped him from opening the flask.

Haymitch sat in his chair and looked over at Annie. “How are you, sweetheart?”

“I missed it here,” she replied quietly. “This is the only home I’ve ever known—the only one I want to know.” Annie turned to look out the open window and a sigh escaped her lips. “These memories keep coming back – of my time in District Four with him.” She met his eyes again. “He used to tell me that I owed him. I needed to take care of him – not to complain…never complain…”

Annie squeezed her eyes shut and Haymitch rushed over as she began rocking back and forth, her hands tightly gripping the cushions.

“Annie, sweetheart?” The soft, sad voice calling out to her was not his.

Haymitch looked up to see Finnick standing next to him. His eyes were trained on Annie, warm tenderness in his usually cool pair of sea green.

She was the girl who Finnick managed to kiss during his stay at their home.

At the same time, however, Haymitch knew that it would be Annie. She was always willing to give, always saying yes, even when it wasn’t good for her.

It was both her best and worst trait.

What Annie didn’t realize was that a willingness to make people happy and take care of them could have some effects—such as having someone like Finnick fall in love with her.

Haymitch had watched the usually calm, confident man over the last few days and saw the way he stared at Annie. He remembered Finnick as a boy—lonely because his calm visage was sometimes seen as arrogance, especially to the hotheaded ones of the group, Johanna and Gale.

It was Annie who saw right through that and, of course, Effie. He would often find the three of them in the kitchen when the kids were younger. Finnick would be at their table, eating whatever Annie had made while Effie told them stories of her childhood.

The two ate it up like the other kids did.

Effie’s childhood was full of love and happiness even though she had lost her momma at a young age—her father adored her and treated her like a princess.

She never had to hide under a bed listening to the creaking bedsprings of her mother’s paramours, or feel the restrains on her small wrists as a man who was supposed to take care of her did unfathomable things to her young body.

Finnick knelt in front of Annie, cupping her face. “Breathe.” Her face had turned blue but his hands slowly brought her back to life. Then he was slowly pulling her into his arms and onto his lap so he could rock her.

Haymitch met Finnick’s eyes, sharing a mutual sadness over Annie’s destroyed innocence.                         

“My little girl...” Haymitch smoothed her dark mess of hair with his weathered hand. “You owe no one but yourself. You need to care for yourself first before you care for others. Effie wanted that for you. _I_ want that for you.”

“I can feel it happening,” she suddenly whispered against Finnick’s chest. “The shift in the air.” Annie turned to him from where she was perched on Finnick’s lap. “Something tells me that I’m going back to District Four. I _have_ to go back to District Four.”

“Then you won’t go alone,” Finnick declared and she went slack against him as his Capitol-insured lips brushed against her temple.

Haymitch looked into her pensive eyes and reached out his hand to hold her tiny one protectively.

“You won’t ever be alone.”

++++++

“That’s my girl,” Peeta cooed into her ear as Katniss rested against him, her back against his bare chest as she nestled in-between his pajama-clad legs. Moving her damp hair off the side of her neck, he placed a gentle kiss on the soft skin. “Just relax.”

“Peeta,” she said, her eyes closed and mouth curled in a slight smile. “We have to meet them downstairs soon.” Katniss took his hand in hers, her lips capturing each of his knuckles in a gentle, open-mouthed kiss. “I promise I will make it up to you.”

“How?” Peeta asked as he undid a button on her top—the other half of the pajama set. His hand cupped her bare breast as the other one reached under the elastic of her panties. He kissed her neck again, tasting the sweat of her anxiousness. She groaned when his pushed his fingers inside her and she shifted onto her knees so he could delve deeper into her wetness. “Relax, baby. “

“How can I relax when all I want to do is lay you back against this bed and kiss every part of you?”

Then Peeta’s mouth was on hers, his tongue coaxing her own as Katniss rode his hand hurriedly—

The door burst open and Johanna rushed in. “COME DOWNSTAIRS QUICKLY!”

He and Katniss pushed apart quickly, scrambling to cover up what they were obviously doing.

Johanna stopped only inches away from their bed, smirking as she watched them neaten their appearance.

“I know what you were doing,” she said off-handedly. “It’s not like we all haven’t heard it before.”

Katniss glared at her. “We get it, Johanna. Can you please leave now?”

“Sure, Mockingjay,” she replied patronizingly. “You might want to button up and put some bottoms on though. Don’t want to give Gale another reason to stare.” Her eyes went to Peeta. “Though I see where the pants are.” Johanna winked at him, briefly glancing at his clothed crotch. “No longer the little one, I see.”

Before Peeta could react, Katniss was jumping off the bed, reaching forward to grab and twist the top of Johanna’s shirt. She yanked Johanna towards her, meeting her eyes challengingly.

“Feisty, aren’t we?” Johanna responded, though he swore he saw a hint of fear in her eyes.

Peeta went to Katniss, his hand closing over her wrist. He could see that her iron grip was causing her hand to tremble. “Let go, Katniss.”

“Don’t ever call me that again,” Katniss warned the other woman, her voice shaking with anger. “Or the next time you do, it will be your neck.”

Her hand released the other girl and Johanna stumbled back.

Peeta turned to her. “We’ll be there after we’ve changed.”

Johanna nodded before turning to leave the room. “Fucking crazy,” she muttered as she slammed the door behind her.

Turning, he saw Katniss sitting on the edge of their bed—her face in her hands as she cried.

Peeta understood her pain. She did not want to be the Mockingjay anymore. The name, the persona, was slowly dying away as they brought one another back to some semblance of a normal life.

Johanna’s mocking was a painful reminder that she might never escape her past.

“You are so much more than that.” Peeta knelt before her. “You are the greatest woman I know; my future wife and one day, the mother of my children. Don’t let her take that away from you.”

“I’m not that person anymore,” she sobbed, her shoulders shaking. “But it will always haunt me.” Her shining eyes met his. “How will I tell our children? How do I explain who I was?”

“We will tell them together,” Peeta assured her. “It is our story to tell. I wasn’t exactly innocent while we were apart either—remember that.”  He smiled up at her softly, content to think that she thought about their children and their future. “Our children will be resilient ones, and they will understand.”

After a moment, Katniss took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. “You’re right.”

Peeta reached forward to push the hair stuck to her forehead away and their eyes locked. He wondered how they managed to stay apart for so long, when just thought of ever having to let her go caused his chest to ache horribly.

“I’m in love with you,” he said suddenly. “Just you—Katniss Everdeen. Not the Mockingjay—” She flinched at the name. “Just you.”

“Is there a difference?” she asked quietly.

“Yes,” he replied simply. “I’ve always loved you but something else grew out of that—a deeper connection and the realization that I can’t live without you now that I have you. It’s a scary thought for both of us—being in love. The people who were supposed to show us how to love failed horribly, but together, I see hope for something better.”

Katniss wrapped her arms around his shoulders to embrace him and she let out a shaky breath. “I’m so in love with you, Peeta,” she whispered into his ear. “So much that I can’t even breathe sometimes.”

“Will you marry me, Katniss?”

She chuckled into his shoulder. “I thought that was the plan.”

Peeta pulled away and took her hand. “This is me making it official.” He grinned at her. “Plus, I’m already on my knees.”

Her lips broke out into a smile and Katniss took his face in her hands, leaning forward to kiss him quickly.

“This is me saying ‘yes’ officially.”

++++++

Haymitch looked up when he heard the loud footsteps and seconds later, Johanna appeared along with Gale. He could see that she was visibly annoyed; her usually pale face sporting bright red stained cheeks and her shirt was slightly askew.

“What happened?” he asked her as he slowly stood up from his place on the couch next to Finnick and Annie, both practically asleep against one another.

It was well past midnight and the children were already tucked in, which made this meeting time convenient though tiring for all parties.

“I caught those two upstairs practically riding each other and then little Mrs. Mellark had a freak out,” she told him angrily.

“It wasn’t exactly unprovoked,” Gale told her with an amused smile. “You were practically ogling Peeta’s junk.” The drama of before had been long forgotten on his end.

“You would take her side.”

“Enough,” Haymitch said and then looked to her. “Are they coming down?”

“We’re here.” He looked at the doorway to find the pair hand in hand. 

Katniss walked in first, her pajama top swaying against her hips and wearing a pair of boxer shorts that were probably Peeta’s. Her legs were covered by a pair of long knitted socks that reached her thighs. Peeta wore the matching bottoms but had put on a faded black t-shirt.

They looked tired but there was something else in their eyes, a joyfulness that he remembered fondly. One that he had felt with Effie until the day she had taken her last breath.

He hoped for so much more for them.

“So now that we’re all here,” Haymitch began. “Why don’t you tell us what’s going on, Johanna?”

Johanna went to the desk and grabbed her legal pad.

“Coal in District Twelve, a possible oil source here, and now methane crystals—natural gas in the District Four cave.” Johanna put down her legal pad and looked up at them. “What do they all have in common?”

“They’re all resources,” Finnick said simply.

“Right—specifically non-renewable resources,” Johanna continued. “If this is the pattern, then I’m willing to bet that the other sites have the same kind of thing.”

“Why would Snow want all of this?”

“Simple,” she replied. “Control. Power. How the hell do you think Panem even got started? We were fighting other countries for these resources, starting wars, and killing our children all for the thought of being the most powerful country, plus we were wasting our own. When we defeated them, we turned against each other – until nothing.”

Johanna took a deep breath. “Now that he’s on top, Snow will do _anything_ to keep that from happening again.” She looked over at Haymitch. “If Snow has all of these resources in his hands then he pulls the strings; he holds and withholds at his discretion. That creates fear – and obedience.”

“Except that Haymitch and Effie wouldn’t let go of this place,” Peeta said. “You have the one thing that he possibly needs and neither of you knew it.”

“I’m willing to bet that Effie’s dad knew though,” Gale added.

“From what I remember, the old man wasn’t a big supporter of Snow when he was first getting started,” Haymitch recalled. “So what now?”

“We confirm each site,” Johanna told them. “Annie—”

“—I know.” Annie sat up warily. “I need to go to District Four.”

“I’m going with her,” Finnick said.

“So am I,” Haymitch added and met the girl’s eyes. “I promised.”

“I can go to District Twelve,” Gale said. “I know a few people there and can poke around. I’m sure that the miners aren’t happy with the state of things.”

“I have connections in the Capitol so I can get some transportation up to the Great Lakes,” Johanna told them. “The last site is about a day’s drive from the Capitol, and there’s a small town right next to the river where you can stay.” She looked over at Katniss and Peeta. “You think you two could make it up there?”

Katniss nodded after a moment.

“I know the place.” She turned to Peeta, her eyes pained. “I was born around there.”

He took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

Haymitch’s mind briefly went over Katniss’ file. She was the only child of the Everdeens. Her father had worked at the mill in the small town while her mother was the homemaker. Her father’s quick death had torn her mother apart and had caused the woman to drag her young daughter into a cold river so that they could join her beloved husband.

Her plan only half worked because there Katniss Everdeen stood, and she seemed to have lived ten different lives when all she wanted was to live a simple one – as a wife and a mother.

“So when do we go?” Katniss asked after a moment.

“It’s best that we leave tomorrow night,” Johanna told them. “It would look suspicious to see a bunch of cars all taking off in the middle of the day.”

“What about us?”

The group looked up to see Prim, Rue and Rory squeezed into the doorway.

“What are you doing up?” Haymitch asked and Prim went to him, her bright blue eyes sad.

“Are you going away?” The way she looked at him broke his heart. “Like Effie?”

He tried to stop the tears but found himself hastily wiping them away before speaking.

“No, sweetheart,” he said softly. “Effie didn’t want to leave, but God decided it was her time. I’m only going to be gone for a little while, but I’ll be back—I promise.” Haymitch turned to the group. “Maybe I should just stay.” His eyes met Annie’s sad ones. “I’m sorry.”

“We heard what you were talking about,” Rory said suddenly. “And I was wondering if I could go to District Twelve with Gale—I think I might have had family there.” He looked over at the taller man. “That is, if you’ll let me come with you.”

“Sure, why not?” Gale grinned at the boy. “It would be nice to have some company on the road.”

“Prim and Rue can come with us.” Haymitch looked over to where Katniss stood with Peeta. She gave Prim a gentle smile then looked over at Rue, who was half-hidden behind the doorway. “If they want to come, that is.”

“You sure?” Haymitch asked her nervously. He looked down at Prim leaning against him and she gave him a quick nod. “These two could be a handful.” He pinched Prim’s nose affectionately. “Especially this one.”

“We would love to have them with us,” Peeta replied easily. “I’ll bring them to the garage for a day; they can meet Portia and Octavia, too.” He looked at Prim, then at Rue. “What do you think?”

Both girls nodded excitedly from where they stood.

“Well, now that we have that settled,” Katniss said, her hands on her hips. “Off to bed.” She turned to Haymitch. “Especially you.”

Prim went to the older girl and Katniss put an arm around her affectionately. Rue joined them and the three walked out of the office.

Everyone began to tiredly filter out of the room until it was just Peeta and Haymitch.

“She’s becoming more and more like Effie,” Haymitch told him after a moment.

“That’s all Katniss wants,” Peeta replied. “To be like her—to be with the man she loves and have a house full of children.”

“Promise me you’ll give her that.”

“I swear it on my life.”

++++++

Haymitch woke up and found himself covered with a blanket, his head resting on a plush pillow.

“Breakfast is ready.” His eyes went to his desk where Annie had set a plate for him. He sat up slowly, stretching his tired muscles. “I should stuff the cushions on that couch. That can’t be good for you.”

“What time is it?”

“Around seven,” Annie replied, the dark circles under her eyes standing out on her ivory face. “Couldn’t sleep.”

“I could tell.” Haymitch patted the spot next to his on the couch. “Let’s talk.”

Annie went to the couch and sat quickly, trying to rest her hands on her lap but failing miserably. He could see her fighting the urge to fidget. She used to do this during stressful situations when she was younger, like when the boys would fight or Johanna threw a tantrum.

Effie always knew what to do to get her to calm down, but the damn woman never revealed her secrets.

Instead, Haymitch took one of Annie’s hands in his.

“Should we go to District Four? You say that you’re okay, but I don’t think you are.”

“Everyone expects me to go crazy,” Annie suddenly said. “Sometimes I think I might—but I don’t want to feel that way anymore! I want to be normal! I want to be happy!” Tears fell from her eyes. “I just want to be loved.”

The last sentence came out in a bare whisper, his dear Annie’s unrequited wish.

“You are loved,” he told her. “Not just because you cook or clean or make masterfully clever food.” Haymitch lifted her chin. “You are loved because you are selfless, you’re kind and you’re brave.”

She met his eyes. “Maybe that’s why I need to go—so I know that despite what he told me, I can go on to love. And it won’t be because of obligation, it will because I choose it.”

“You are stronger than you know,” he said after a moment.

“Effie always told me that. It’s what always brought me back.”

++++++

The rest of the day was spent in preparations.

Haymitch checked in on all the children. Gale and Rory would be taking off in the evening after dinner in an unregistered silver pick-up truck that Peeta ‘rented’ while he was in town with Finnick.

“I’ll need to paint it quickly,” Peeta told his foster father. “Any paint around?”

“Check the storage,” he told him and spotted Katniss watching the two as she sat on porch railing dangling her bare feet, her skirt just barely hitting her knees. “And _don’t_ take her with you.”

God help him if someone found them in there— it seemed best to keep them separated until they were in the privacy of their own room.

“I’m good on my word,” Peeta replied with a grin, then looked over at Katniss. “I’m not so sure about that one though.”

“Good luck,” Haymitch said before walking up the porch and nodding at the woman. “Be good.”

“Spoil sport,” she muttered in response, but her mouth was trained in a smirk.

Haymitch couldn’t help but grin. “If you even _think_ about doing anything, just remember it was the same storage that Effie—“

She covered her face in embarrassment. “I‘ve heard the story, Haymitch. Effie told us many, many, many times.”

Haymitch heard the front door creak open and saw Annie coming out with a canister in one hand and a pitcher of water in the other.

Rushing over, he took the pitcher before it could potentially slip from her hand. “What are you doing?”

Annie gave him a nervous smile and nodded her head over to the area past the trees.

“Come and see if you’d like,” she told him. “I think I figured it out.”

“Can I come?” Katniss asked curiously and Annie smiled, taking her hand so that they could walk together.  The two always had a bond, though it seemed like they never really spoke. Effie once remarked that Katniss’ strong personality and Annie’s gentle nature complimented one another.

Annie knelt down onto the dirt and opened the canister, placing it in front of her.

Peeta had now joined them and was standing next to Haymitch.

“I needed to find a way to identify whether or not there was oil on the property,” Annie began as she took some of the dirt and put it into the canister. From where Haymitch stood, he saw that the bottom of the canister had a white powder—her own creation. “It would be useless for us to even dig and there’s a good chance that the surface soil would show its presence.  I needed an opposing base to oil.”

“Water,” Katniss answered for her.

“Exactly, but I needed something stronger to draw it out.”

“Draw what out?” Peeta asked in anticipation as he knelt in front of the canister.

“This.” She looked up at Haymitch, who handed her the pitcher so Annie could fill the canister. They all leaned forward to look inside. The soil remained at the bottom but they could see that the white powder underneath was dissipating.

In a matter of seconds, a cluster of bubbles floated up from the soil, creating a large, inky circle on the surface of the water.

“May I?” Peeta asked Annie and she nodded. Reaching forward, he stuck the tips of his finger into the water and upon pulling it out rubbed the substance along them. “Holy shit—it’s oil.”

“You did it,” Haymitch said and pulled Annie up from the ground to hug her. He looked up at the sky. “Effie, our Annie is brilliant!” His eyes met the young girl’s and she beamed at his happiness. “I’m damn proud of you.”

“What’s going on?” Finnick was walking towards them with Gale and Johanna following quickly behind. Annie ran towards him and Finnick caught her quickly, twirling her in his arms. “What did I do to deserve this?” His bronzed cheeks were flushed as he gently placed her back on her feet, his hand finding hers once she was standing solidly.

“Annie confirmed that there is an actual oil source here,” Katniss informed the three. “If we can find out what the resources of the other places are, then we’ll have something real to scare Snow with.”

Her eyes were full of steel as she looked at each of them. “This isn’t just about keeping our home anymore. This is about Panem getting out of his grip.”

“Are we starting a rebellion?” Gale asked with a crooked grin.

They already knew their answer.

++++++

“You okay on money?” Haymitch asked Peeta as he placed the last of the bags into the Chevelle. “The girls are tiny, but they eat a lot—all that energy just doesn’t come from age.”

“We’ll be okay,” he assured his foster father.

Haymitch peeked through the window into the back of the car where Prim and Rue slept against one another. “Prim gets motion sickness and Rue sometimes has nightmares—“

“They’re going to be fine,” Katniss said as she walked down the porch steps towards them, blankets in her hands. “These are for them so they’re more comfortable in the back of the car.” She smiled at him and reached up on her toes to kiss the older man’s cheek. “I promise that I’ll take care of your girls.”

“I have no doubt about it,” Haymitch replied with a soft smile. “You’re a mother hen if I’ve ever seen one.”

He looked at his watch. “You should head out now. I’m sure that Gale is well on his way.” He had left in the newly painted black truck with Rory and Johanna, who was going to her office in the Capitol to meet her contact. “Good luck—you have my number.” He held up the phone that Johanna had given him before she left. “Just remember, nothing specific in our conversations.”

The couple nodded and Katniss reached forward to hug him. “We’re going to be okay.”

He wasn’t used to seeing her like this and his eyes met Peeta’s.

“She’s going soft because of you,” Haymitch told him with a smirk. Katniss huffed at him before heading to the car.

“Oh, she can still kick some ass if needed,” Peeta replied. “Why do you think Johanna was so pissed the other night?”

“I remember Effie and myself being very aggravated with them when they were younger,” the older man recalled. “The peril of adolescent girls.”

They watched Katniss open the door quietly to move the passenger seat. She unfolded a blanket and placed it over the sleeping girls, then returned the seat to its original position.

“I’ll protect them,” Peeta told Haymitch as Katniss settled into the passenger seat. “They’re all very precious to me.”

“I have no doubt.” Haymitch looked at his watch again. “You should head out.” He embraced the man. “Good luck.”

Peeta nodded firmly. “You too.”

++++++

“Are you ready?”

Haymitch looked over at Annie, her green eyes watching him as he surveyed the house. He had no idea how long they would be in District Four. This would be the first time in a long while that he would be away from his home.

He was afraid that when he returned, Effie’s presence would suddenly be gone from the home they created. If she somehow lingered there, would she think that he abandoned her?

“Getting there,” he told her.

Annie nodded after a moment. “Finnick is waiting in the car whenever you’re ready.” She headed to the front door and turned to him as she opened it. “I put something in your bag—just in case you miss home.”

Walking out, she closed the door behind her quietly.

After a moment, he knelt down and unzipped the duffle to look at what Annie had placed in his bag—it was the photo of the group as children from tallest to the smallest and his Effie, who was all smiles. He brushed her face with the pad of his thumb before placing the picture back in his bag.

Going to the door, Haymitch turned and looked around the house, whispering a silent goodbye before walking out and locking the door.

* * *

 

To me, this is a small chapter, but I think it has a lot of information. Now you know why Snow wanted Effie and Haymitch’s house so badly. As you know, oil is hard to come by nowadays and I imagine it is that way in this alternate Panem.

The substance that Annie created is something I made up—a detergent of sorts that pulls out the chemical properties of oil when it meets water. Not exactly super clever, but I think our Annie is a smarty-pants.

The next chapter will be run between Haymitch in District Four as he investigates with Annie and Finnick, and Peeta, who travels with Katniss back to her hometown. It’s not exactly a happy homecoming for either of the women. There will also be some calls from Johanna and Gale reporting their findings during their own assignments.

Hellos, reviews, and feedback are always welcome on Tumblr, FF, and AO3.

Thanks for reading, boos.

Until Part Five, JLaLa

 

 

 


	5. Chapter Five: Cocky

Thank you to everyone whose reading! I appreciate your feedback!

The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.

Thank you to my beta, Chelzie, who is just the best.

Lazy

Part Five: Cocky

_“I bless the day I found you_   
_I want to stay around you_   
_Now and forever_   
_Let it be me…”_

“This song reminds me of us.”

Peeta looked over to see Katniss sitting up, her arms reaching over her head as she stretched. Their eyes met and she gave him a sleepy smile.

 “Good morning, beautiful,” he greeted her as he drove, one hand lazily controlling the wheel.

She looked around and saw that they were getting close to his garage. “Have I been asleep all this time?” Katniss gave him a reprimanding look. “You should’ve woken me up to take over the wheel.”

“Do you know how to drive a stick-shift?”

“Not exactly,” she replied with a smile. “But I can master a stick pretty quickly.” Katniss winked and blew him a kiss.

Peeta chuckled. “Very funny, sweetheart.” His hand reached over and she took it, kissing the pad of each finger. He hissed as the contact of her lips against his skin caused his groin to suddenly tighten. “That’s dangerous.”

“Be good,” she warned and turned to check on the sleeping girls. “We have two very impressionable girls with us.” Katniss watched them for a moment, her eyes soft as she did. “Can we keep them?”

He looked over at her. “You think you could handle two right away?”

“Yes, I could.” Her eyes remained fixed on the two girls before turning to him. “And you?”

“It’s going to be a hell of a time when they start dating,” he replied after a moment. “Good thing that I’ll have Haymitch, Gale, and Finnick as back-up.”

Peeta made a turn off the road and they were suddenly pulling up to his garage. Turning off the engine, he turned to her and took her hand once again.

“Of course, we’ll have to even out the playing field right away,” he continued, his blue eyes dancing. “If you want.”

Katniss nodded, her eyes shining. “It’s only fair. Thank you, Peeta.” She leaned forward and gave him a kiss. His hand went to the nape of her neck to deepen it and after they pulled away, he admired the beauty of her flushed cheeks and glowing eyes. “I’ll wake them up.”

His heart was still pounding from the taste of her. “I should go unlock the door and bring up the bags.”

Opening his door, Peeta stepped out to look around the neighborhood. It was still very early in the morning so he wasn’t expecting anyone to be awake, but he still had to be careful. He would be taking the Chevelle apart as soon as Katniss and the girls were settled and they would use a larger car for their trip up.

“Peeta!”

He turned to find Portia and Octavia rushing towards him excitedly. The women had been out of town when he was with Katniss so he had not seen them since he had found her. They engulfed him into a three-person hug and he breathed in the sweet familiarity of Octavia’s perfume.

“You disappeared on us,” Portia said sternly, but her eyes went to Katniss, who stood with the two tired girls. “Is that her?”

Peeta turned, giving Katniss a nod to let her know it was okay, before turning to the two older women.

“That’s my Katniss,” he told them and then the two women were dragging him to get introduced.

Prim and Rue pushed themselves closer to Katniss as they approached.

“Katniss, this is Portia.” He looked to the taller woman with the mocha skin and tight bun. “And this is Octavia,” he nodded to the shorter, plumper woman with shoulder-length curls. “Ladies, this is Katniss.”

“Hello,” she greeted them with an exhausted smile. Katniss looked from left to right to each of the girls clinging to her. “This is Primrose and Rue.”

“You’re as beautiful as Peeta described,” Portia said with a big grin and Peeta could see the crimson tinting Katniss’ cheeks. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.” She looked at the younger girls, then at Katniss. “Your…sisters?”

“They’re family,” Katniss declared affectionately and squeezed each of their shoulders.

“You two are adorable,” Octavia remarked and went to the girls. “Imagine the dresses I could make for both of you! Boys would be lining up at the door—“

“Let’s not take it that far,” Peeta suddenly interjected. He looked around to make sure no one was watching. “Why don’t we take it inside my place?”

“I have something baking at our house,” Portia told the couple. “We’ll bring it over in about fifteen minutes so you can get settled.”

Katniss smiled gratefully at the two women. “Thank you. I’m just going to get these young ladies to bed.” She looked over at Peeta. “I’ll bring them to your room.”

He handed Katniss a key to the apartment. “Your copy,” Peeta told her. “I’m going to drive this into the garage and start disassembling it soon.”

“You have to sleep, Peeta,” Katniss told him. “Come in first. Get some rest and some food in you.”

He squeezed her hand. “I’ll do that after I bring the car in, okay?” She nodded before ushering the girls towards the stairs to their apartment. Peeta turned to the women. “Did anyone come by?”

“About a week ago,” Portia reported as the two women walked him to his car. “A car drove down this road, paused at your garage, and continued on.”

“Black Sedan, tinted windows,” Octavia added. “We haven’t seen it since.”

“Shit,” he muttered. “He knows.” Peeta turned to the women. “Thanks for telling me.”

“I don’t know what’s going on, young man,” Portia said in a warning tone. “But you need to watch out—it’s not just you anymore. It’s her, too.”

“I know,” he told her. “Trust me when I tell you that I’ll do anything in my power to protect her—protect them.”

Reaching into his pocket, Peeta began to text Haymitch.

++++++

**_District Four_ **

_‘Just arrived, we’re all okay. I’ll call later. –P’_

Haymitch responded quickly before putting his phone back into his back pocket. He had received similar responses from Johanna and Gale, also advising him that they had reached their destinations as well.

Inhaling the salty air, he turned to look for Annie and Finnick. The two were standing by the unassuming khaki Jeep that Peeta had ‘found’ for them—the boy was unbelievably crafty. He had managed to paint two cars in a matter of hours before driving off in the dark of night with Katniss and two very tired girls.

He reminded himself to tell the boy to get some sleep during their call.

Walking over to the two, Haymitch could see Annie’s long hair flying back and forth in the gentle wind.

“You okay there?” he asked as he reached them.

Annie turned to him, her green eyes heavy. “It’s strange because there are things that I missed about this place and then there are things that I wish I could forget.” She took a deep breath. “Things I’d do anything to forget.”

“Focus on the things that you missed,” Haymitch urged and gave her an encouraging smile.

“Haymitch is right,” Finnick told her and took her hand. “Is there anyone you remember from here?”

The girl sucked in another harsh breath of salty air before looking around once more. Their gazes followed hers and she suddenly froze, her eyes catching something behind Haymitch.

“Could she still be alive?’ Annie walked past him with Finnick in tow.

Haymitch turned and found his eyes focusing on a shack teetering on the cliff in front of them. Annie was already running towards the house, dragging Finnick with her. The other man gave him a desperate look and Haymitch struggled to hold in a smile.

Finnick was so used to holding the cards; to see him cowering before his sweet Annie was almost laughable.

On the other hand, he recalled how whipped he was whenever Effie gave him ‘the look’.

The three reached the top of the cliff in only a matter of minutes. It was then that Annie stopped, her petite form freezing only paces away from the rickety house. Her eyes focused on the wind chimes hanging next to the door.

“She used to tell me that these wind chimes drove evil away,” Annie told them before turning to look at the door nervously. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“You can,” Finnick urged as he put an arm around her. “You’ve gotten this far. Plus, Haymitch and I are right behind you. I promise you, Annie—I’ll be here.”

“For how long?” she suddenly countered.

“Until the day you want me to go.” Finnick’s eyes focused straight into hers. “No one will ever force you to do anything that you don’t want to do—not as long as I’m alive.”

They remained that way for a moment until Annie nodded resolutely, a smile playing on her lips.

Finnick’s shoulders relaxed and he stepped back so that she could make her way up the porch alone.

Haymitch joined him after a moment and their eyes met. “You okay there?”

The younger man grinned at Haymitch, his eyes glowing. “She loves me.”

Haymitch chuckled and clapped a congratulatory hand on Finnick’s shoulder, happy to see a true smile on the boy’s full lips.

For years, Haymitch had tried to hide the true nature of Finnick’s career from Effie, though it was obvious due to his golden looks that Finnick was destined to be a Capitol jewel. His wife had heard of them, and when Finnick was taken—she had hoped that he was at least tested before they turned him out.

It was the day that Haymitch found her crying over a picture of Finnick in the Capitol’s press paper that had intensified his hatred for Snow. Effie had just finished a round of chemo and was resting in bed when she spied the picture of her foster son in-between an older man and woman—a rich Capitol couple who had a penchant for golden-haired boys.

Finnick’s smile in the photo was obviously forced. Haymitch could see in his foster son’s pained eyes that the couple had broken him into the horrors of being a Capitol whore. How he never went insane was beyond Haymitch—he had heard stories of other jewels who had jumped from buildings or poisoned themselves after their first meetings with the Capitol elite.

Annie rapped against the door, bouncing between her feet, as she waited. Haymitch walked up the steps carefully with Finnick following behind. Together they waited hearing slow, careful steps approach the door.

The creak of the door opening revealed an elderly woman with peppery hair wrapped in a bun. Her wide eyes examined them for a moment and she gave them a small smile—the weathered skin around her eyes crinkling as she did.

“Mags?” Annie greeted her in a soft voice. “I don’t know if you remember me—Annie Cresta? I lived in the house close to the cave…with my father?” Her voice faltered towards the last bit and Finnick took her hand as Haymitch took the other.

The woman opened the door wider and approached Annie. The older woman reached out to cup her cheek and then slowly turned Annie’s head. Her eyes widened when her hand touched the small scar on Annie’s cheekbone—a goodbye present from her father.

Mags began to nod frantically and her arms reached for Annie.

“You remember me!” his foster daughter exclaimed as they embraced and Haymitch watched as the older woman began to weep silently. “Don’t cry, Mags—I’m okay! I lived in a wonderful home. Haymitch is my foster father—” Mags pulled back to look at him and gave him a kind smile. “Finnick lived there, too.” The older woman looked at the handsome man, her eyes narrowing as she did.

Annie turned to him. “Mags was the one who told the authorities about my father,” she informed Haymitch. “Without her, I’d be dead.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Haymitch said and the older woman nodded.

Annie suddenly paled and then turned to Mags.

“What did they do to you?” she asked quietly. The woman tapped her throat and shook her head. “Is it permanent?” Mags nodded and Annie cupped her hands over her mouth as her eyes filled. “I never meant for you to get hurt.”

Mags shook her head and took Annie’s hand trying to comfort the girl. Haymitch understood that Mags felt that it was worth it; Annie’s situation needed to be handled. He had been the one to look over each of their children’s profiles. Mr. Cresta was a sick man—the health report noting the bruises between Annie’s thighs proved it.

Effie had cried the night that Annie came—she had bathed the little girl, who had whimpered the whole time before her foster mother put her to bed. His wife recounted to him in a teary, raspy voice about the girl’s mangled body—the bruises, the welts, and the blood.

“Haymitch?” He looked over at Annie, who was being pulled into the old woman’s home. “Mags is inviting us in.”

The woman gave him a welcoming nod, following it with a terse one at Finnick before she led Annie into her home. Haymitch chuckled as he looked over at a perplexed Finnick.

“What did I do?” he asked his foster father. “She seems to really dislike me.”

Haymitch chuckled at him before entering the house.  “Looks like you finally found someone who doesn’t go for your Capitol charms.”

++++++

“How are the girls?” Peeta asked when he entered the apartment.

After ushering Portia and Octavia away back to their place, he had taken his car into the garage and mourned its soon-to-be state of dismemberment. He would miss the Chevelle; it had been his favorite commission and he had made a good amount of cash from Snow for it. Unfortunately, knowing that Cato had the Chevelle for some time caused his anger to flare; the man had a hold on a lot of things that Peeta had wanted – Katniss, included.

However, thinking of her smile quickly dissipated his temper.

Losing the car didn’t hold a candle to finding her.

She beckoned him over to the bedroom door and quietly opening it, Katniss let him peek in. Prim and Rue slept side by side peacefully. Prim’s mouth hung slightly open in a soft snore as Rue slung her arm over her head before settling.

“Looks like they’re comfortable,” he said as she closed the door.

Katniss took his hand and led him to the couch. “I’m afraid we’ll be sleeping here tonight.”

“I don’t mind,” he told her. “I’ll be sure to hold extra tight so you don’t fall off.”

She went to the couch, lying across it as Peeta went to the jukebox.

“Not too loud,” Katniss warned. “You don’t want to wake the girls.”

“Yes, little mother.” Peeta punched his selection and turned to her. “Will you at least dance with me?”

“What is it with you and dancing?” Getting up, she walked to him, her hips swaying softly. Peeta admired the soft curves of the woman. Watching her grow up in front of his very eyes had been a thing of beauty; he remembered wonderful yet tortuous nights where Katniss and her budding curves had invaded his dreams.

He was sure that Gale and Finnick remembered those nights, too.

“I guess it brings back good memories.” Peeta wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her close. “Of you and me learning to dance, Effie arguing with you, and your pout as she tried to instruct us.” He took her hand. “But what I remember the most is getting to hold you like this, even though you were whiny the whole time.”

_“Many nights I sit here_   
_With memories by the score_   
_Thinking of the days I spent_   
_With the girl I still adore…”_

“Very funny,” she replied huffily. Peeta chuckled and she glared at him before putting her head on his shoulder. “I just didn’t appreciate being bossed around.”

“That was Effie,” Peeta reminded her. “She always wanted us to be the best. We came from shitty families, but she never wanted us to feel like that. She believed that we were capable of being the best people we could be.”

They swayed quietly for a moment before Katniss spoke again. “Do you think we can do this?”

“Do what?”

She pulled away from him, her eyes worried. “This whole thing with Snow—I’m scared. He knows what I did to Cato and now he’s out for blood.”

He stared back at her for a moment, his thoughts on the sedan that had been casing his house before they came. If they knew where he was, it would only be a matter of time before they came for her. Peeta wasn’t about to let that happen.

“I won’t let him take you,” he promised her. “I won’t lie to you. Portia and Octavia told me that there was a car stopped in front of the garage last week.” Her eyes widened though her expression remained calm. “So we have to be out of here quickly and that’s why I’m trying to tear the car apart as soon as possible. They have less on us without evidence—the pistol has already been destroyed.”

Katniss nodded. “I understand.” Her voice was gravelly and detached. “Somehow, he’s always going to own me.”

“No,” he stated and lifted her chin. “He never had you—the real you. You always belonged to our family—the one with the parents who did everything they could to make sure we always felt safe.” Tears formed her eyes as she listened. “They always believed in their kids because they saw the potential in each of us. Effie saw that what we had was real from the beginning and she always had faith. Don’t disappoint her, Katniss. She always believed that you were the strongest out of all of us because you knew how important you were from the beginning—or else you wouldn’t have fought so hard to live that night.”

She nodded after a moment and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I should suck it up,” she said after a moment. “I wouldn’t want our girls to see me like this. They’d take advantage of it.” Katniss smiled up at him. “I really want them—after this is all over.”

“Of course,” Peeta replied. “Rue and Prim are ours now—the beginning of our family.”

“The beginning, huh?” she teased. “How many little ones are you expecting? I feel myself getting tired at the thought of making them, then raising them.”

Peeta felt his cheeks heat as he thought of the ‘making’ aspect of her statement. “Not as many as Haymitch and Effie, I can promise you that.” The soft knock on the door interrupted their discussion. “That must be the ladies.”

Katniss took his hand once more, her eyes looking into his. “Doesn’t matter how many; they’ll be our family—always.”

++++++

**_District Four_ **

_‘Rory found some kin who work in the mines. More info later. -G’_

_‘Just reached the upper region of the Lakes. Nothing of suspicion in local town. I’ll call tomorrow. -J’_

Haymitch closed his phone, and looked over to Annie peering out the window onto the back porch. He could tell that she was anxious due to her constant bouncing.

“Why don’t you go check on Finnick?” Haymitch suggested. Walking over to her, he handed her the blanket that Mags had given him. “Give him this--just in case it gets colder in the middle of the night.”

Annie blushed as she took the blanket. “I feel so bad. He didn’t seem to mind, but I keep thinking that tomorrow morning we’re going to find out that he’s gone and taken off.”

“Why would he do that?” Haymitch questioned his young charge.

She looked down at her stocking feet as she replied, “Because he realized that I wasn’t worth it.”

Haymitch lifted her chin so he could meet her worried eyes. “Oh, darling, you’re worth it. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If you don’t remember that, then you’re letting your father win.”

“You’re right,” she said in a hushed voice. “I’d better go bring this outside.”

Before Annie could change her mind, she opened the door and went onto the porch to join Finnick.

He laughed to himself thinking that Effie would’ve have handled this much better than he did. It was strange to see the relationships forming between their foster children. Katniss and Peeta’s relationship was not surprising because of the instant chemistry that the two seemed to harbor since they met. Finnick and Annie’s, however, was slower to build—love had crept up on them.

Haymitch heard shuffling and turned to find Mags approaching him, a kind smile on her face. She looked around and arched her eyebrow at him.

“Annie is outside checking on Finnick,” he informed the older woman. Her lips formed a frown and she shook her head before going to the small stove and retrieving the kettle on it. She nodded her head to her left and Haymitch looked over to the small cupboard. Going to it, he retrieved two mugs before going to the table and placing them next to the kettle that Mags had placed there.

Helping Mags to her seat, he sat across from her and filled their mugs. He could smell the chamomile and it instantly calmed him.

“You seem to really dislike Finnick,” Haymitch stated after he took a sip. “Is there a reason why?”

Mags stared into his eyes for a moment before reaching into the pocket of her long sweater and pulling out a small notepad along with a pencil. She scribbled her message onto an empty page before handing it over to Haymitch.

**‘He’s a handsome boy. Handsome ones like him can’t be trusted.’**

Haymitch looked up after reading and sighed as he handed the pad back.

“You’ve seen the Capitol press?” Mags nodded and he shook his head. “My wife, Effie, and I hoped that it would have never come to that for Finnick. His mother was a Capitol entertainer and he got his looks and charisma from her. Maybe it made him a hot commodity to Snow. It broke our hearts when we found out what had become of him.”

She wrote again, this time for a longer amount of time, and finally pushed the pad to him:

**‘Annie’s father, Jacob, was a handsome man but he was sick and evil. Everyone was afraid to admit that they knew what he was doing to Annie. Everyone could hear her screams in the middle of the night. Towards the end, he tried to get rid of her—I was the one who stopped him from crushing her skull against the cave rocks. I finally got someone from the Capitol to take her out of here. The next day, my husband’s body was found in that cave. The day after that, someone came to this house and poured something down my throat as I slept. It was Jacob. He disappeared after that. This time no one helped. No one had time to help a mute, especially when Jacob told everyone I was crazy.’**

A chill ran through him reading Mags’ story. He understood how scary it probably felt to see a boy who reminded her of Annie’s father staying in her home.

“Finnick isn’t like that,” Haymitch argued. “He’s a good boy, who, like Annie, came from bad circumstances. No one has ever cared for Annie like he has. When he is with her, the Capitol persona doesn’t exist. Instead, I see the boy who would help Effie hang laundry, or eat anything that Annie placed in front of him no matter how sick it made him.”

He placed a hand over Mags’ and looked into her soft eyes.

“He is just as lost as she is, but together they are complete,” he continued. “Give him the benefit of the doubt and trust that Annie knows what she is doing.”

Mags nodded after a moment before hastily writing something else on the notepad.

**‘I will try—but he still sleeps on the porch.”**

Haymitch chuckled. “Deal. I think that our golden boy could use a few nights outside.”

++++++

Peeta and Katniss agreed to leave the girls with Octavia and Portia. Prim and Rue had his cell number memorized since it was too dangerous to have it written down anywhere, and it was only to be called during emergencies.

The next day, the couple set out for Katniss’ hometown in a rusted pick-up truck that must have been used for agricultural transport, as the smell of wheat still lingered in it.

“They’ll be okay, right?” Katniss asked worriedly as they drove away from his garage.

“Of course. They know very little of why we are even going up to this town,” he assured her. “If anything, Portia and Octavia will hide them. They can be crafty if needed.”

“You’re right,” she said, though her hands trembled. “I just have this feeling, Peeta – like something is going to happen.”

He looked over at her worriedly. “Good or bad?”

She shrugged and met his eyes heavily. “I just know something is happening.”

Peeta took her hand as he guided the wheel with the other. He knew there was nothing he could say that would reassure her. Katniss was stubborn in her feelings, and her intuition was strong. Peeta could only hope that they were prepared for whatever was coming.

The trip took the whole day. When they arrived in the forest town that used to be Katniss’ home, the sun was already beginning to set. Katniss guided him off the road and into the forest until they reached a clearing in the middle of the woods.

“Park here,” she instructed him. “No one should see the car here since no one will come here.”

“Why?”

She pointed to what was once a small wooden shack—it was now reduced to a half-open hovel.

“That was my home once,” Katniss said shakily, her eyes focused on the dilapidated structure. Her breath came out in short spurts and her eyes were full of tears as she opened her door. Peeta stepped out from his side and joined her side quickly. “See that porch over there? My dad used to carve out little wooden dolls for me to play with.”

They walked to the house, hand in hand. He could see her change—she looked so much younger in this place. Peeta, however, could see how deep this melancholy in her was – like a stubborn root that refused to be pulled out. If it was removed—would she still be herself? Or was it already too much a part of her?

He refused to believe in that possibility. He loved her too much to let that happen.

“My mom would make me little clothes for them,” she continued as she reached the porch. Walking to a far corner of it, she bent down and lifted a loose piece of wood up. “I kept them here.” She reached in and pulled out two small, dirty wooden figures with muddied clothes. Presenting them to him as she stood up, Katniss gave him a tearful smile. “I told myself one day that I would come back for them. I wouldn’t abandon them like my parents abandoned me.”

He took them gently from her hands with one hand and pulled her to him with the other, wrapping an arm around her as he did.

“Oh, baby,” he whispered as he kissed the side of her head. Katniss was already crying into his shoulder, both her arms wrapped tightly around his torso. “Just let it out.” Peeta peppered her hair with kisses and he felt the sting of tears hitting his eyes at hearing her cry. “You made good on your promise, and now we have them. We’ll clean them up and make them like new. Octavia and Portia can make new clothes for them. We can give them to Prim and Rue.”

Katniss looked up at him and gave him a wet chuckle. “They’re too old for dolls.”

Peeta smiled back. “If they’re from their mama, they’ll love them,” he assured Katniss and put an arm around her. “And if not, then our next one can have them.” She smiled at the mention of their next child.

They walked back to the pick-up and he opened the back. Katniss pushed herself onto the back of it and he followed, their feet dangling above the dirt. He looked at the dolls in his hands, trying to imagine what they must have looked like back then. The dolls were obviously a couple; one wore a checkered dress while the other wore dark linen pants and a white shirt.

The only distinguishing quality was that the girl doll’s eyes were a bright blue.

Peeta could tell that they could easily be fixed with a little paint and some protective varnish. When they got home, he would have a new project.

She saw that he was staring at the girl doll. “Her name is Astrid.”

“Why Astrid?”

Katniss smiled gingerly at him and took the doll’s hand. “After my grandmother, my father’s mother, but she’s modeled after my mom. Blonde hair and blue eyes—see?” She traced the faded yellow on the doll’s head with her index finger. “She looks like Prim.”

Peeta held out the male doll. “And what is his name?”

“Lucas, after my father.” Peeta handed her the doll and she placed it in her lap. “His hair was dark and thick like mine.”

It was growing dark, and he looked around to see that there was enough wood for them to start a fire. They would sleep in the back of the truck, since it would look suspicious for them to try and find shelter in the nearby town.

“Lucas is a nice name,” he remarked softly, his mind drawing up the image of a little dark-haired boy with his blue eyes.

Their eyes met and he grew warm wondering if she could read his thoughts. She seemed to because Katniss suddenly drew him to her, her hand reaching behind his neck so their lips could meet. She tasted of tears but the brush of her tongue kindled the slow burning fire in him and he pulled her close, wanting to feel her heartbeat against him.

She laid back and pulled him on top of her, their chests pressing against one another, and Peeta could feel her nipples harden at the contact. Grinding her hips against his pelvis, he couldn’t help but let a moan escape his mouth.

“Should we be doing this?” he asked as she pulled away, tugging on his bottom lip with her teeth as she did. “I don’t want us to get too out of hand.”

She grinned teasingly, her long hair fanned around her as she looked up at him.

“Are you turning me down, Mellark?”

His hand reached to tuck her hair behind her ear. “You’re making this very difficult for me, Everdeen. Especially when you’re looking at me like you want to attack me.”

She scoffed at him. “Attack you? That’s a harsh choice of words.”

“Okay—does ‘ravish’ sound like a better word?” Katniss raised a brow at him and he gave her an apologetic smile before lying next to her. “I just don’t want it to get out of hand. When we’re finally together, it should be special.”

“It better be special,” she responded. “I never felt so frustrated in my life.” Katniss settled against him laying her head on his shoulder, the darkness enveloping them as the moon rose and the orange of the sunset faded. “What were you imagining? Candlelight? Silk?”

“Is that what they like in the Capitol?” Peeta asked curiously. She didn’t respond but her body inched closer to him in affirmation. “I was thinking firelight, actually. It should happen in front of a fire.”

“That sounds nice,” she said quietly. “Romantic, even.”

They settled into a peaceful silence, and Peeta felt her hand rest against his chest onto the spot where his heart was beating. He knew that she did it to reassure herself that it wasn’t a dream. Peeta found himself doing the same thing from the time to time whenever he was with her.

They both needed to be sure that all of this was real. The two of them. In the same place. Together.

“Peeta?”

“Yeah, sweetheart?” His eyes looked up into the sky, lit with burning stars. They had the same view from Effie and Haymitch’s house, but somehow it looked different in the darkness of the forest.

“Do you think Lucas will like the dolls?” He looked down to see her staring up at him, her silvery eyes glowing through the darkness. “If Prim and Rue decide not to take them?”

He hoped that she could see his smile in the darkness.  “Of course. Our son will love them.”

++++++

**District Four**

“I think I might have found it, Haymitch,” Johanna informed him on the phone. “Ever heard of an aquifer?”

“Once again, do I look like a goddamn encyclopedia?”

Haymitch could hear her huff through the receiver. “Aquifers are underground layers of water that can be tapped for groundwater. At one point, the country had several of them but that was before Panem was established. Now we are down to one, so water is getting scarce.”

“So you think you found one?”

“Aquifers are usually located close to water sources but the lakes aren’t connected to one—at least not one that’s been reported,” she continued. “So I started to look into this town that Snow owned—its population is less than a hundred and there is only one resident that is over the age of fifty still living in the town. Her name is Agatha Jones.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Agatha Jones is the grandmother of Senator Paylor.” Johanna took a deep breath into her phone before going on. “I’m willing to bet that where her home is located—an aquifer is right beneath it. “

Snow was possibly pulling the same crap with Paylor as he was with Haymitch. He felt sick to his stomach at the thought.

“Just make sure that you really look into this, Johanna,” Haymitch warned. “Also, be careful. Peeta told me that his neighbors spotted a car passing his garage the week he wasn’t there.”

“Are he and Katniss okay? The girls?”

“They’re fine, but they’re worried and you should be, too.”

“Don’t worry so much, Haymitch. I’m a big girl.”

“Even big girls get hurt, too,” he replied and sighed. “Call me when you get more information, and if you talk to Gale—give him a little warning. He’ll listen to you.”

“Sure thing,” she said and he could almost feel her smirk through the phone. “I’ll be okay—I promise.”

“Text me tomorrow.”

“Of course.”

Haymitch hung up the phone and set it down on the kitchen table. He felt the stirring of a migraine beginning in his head.

“Here, drink this.” A cup was suddenly in front of him. He looked up to find Annie staring at him from across the table. “Everything okay?”

He shook his head. “Johanna might have stumbled across something.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Not if she’s alone and poking her nose in Snow’s business.” He took a sip from the warm mug, tasting cumin in it. “I should send Gale after he’s done in District Twelve.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Annie replied easily.

Haymitch looked around the house and was surprised to see that it was empty except for him and Annie. “Where are the other two?”

Taking his hand, Annie led him out onto the back porch of Mags’ home. She nodded her head in his direction, her cheeks red as she looked behind him.

“Over there.”

Turning, Haymitch looked over to where the docks were located—a mile or two away from Mags’ cliffside home and on the sandy beach below them—to find Finnick and Mags on a fishing boat. His foster son was shirtless as he threw a large fishing net onto the water. Next to him, Mags watched to make sure he was doing it correctly.

“He wanted to help,” Annie told him. “I think he feels like a little bit of a burden.”

“No, honey, he feels like a really big burden, and seeing as Mags is like a grandmother to you—Finnick needs to prove himself.”

His foster daughter looked at him, confusion in her eyes. “Prove himself?”

“If he wants to court you, then I think he wants Mags’ approval,” Haymitch teased. Her pale cheeks darkened further with crimson. “Also, I’m sure Mags likes to keep him on his toes.”

Annie watched them for a moment before nodding. “I guess. Though I don’t think he needs to try so hard. I like him when he’s just…him.”

“I know, darling.” He put an arm around her. “That’s why he loves you so much; because you see him as more than a Capitol jewel. You know his worth is far beyond that.”

They remained silent, watching the pair on the boat before Annie turned to him again, her eyes serious.

“I want to go down to the cave,” she said suddenly. “Before they come back.”

“Are you sure?”

Annie nodded, resolution in her eyes. “I’m afraid that if we don’t do it now, I’ll never go.”

“Do we need anything?”

Annie went to the corner where Finnick’s duffle bag rested against the wall. Poking through it, she quickly pulled out a small grey box with the power button on the top. She met Haymitch’s eyes guiltily.

“This is supposed to detect gas levels—it lights up depending on the intensity of level,” Annie informed him.

“What is Finnick going to say when he sees you’ve taken it?”

“Finnick wanted to do this with me, but he will understand,” she replied. “I can’t let him—I’m not ready for anyone to see me look so weak. It’s different with you and Effie; I’ve always let my guard down with both of you—my parents.”

Haymitch felt his eyes burn listening to her words. Quickly, he looked down to compose himself, meeting her eyes after a moment.

“Let’s go before they get back.”

++++++

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Peeta asked as they walked through the forest. Somewhere a river was running, the sound of rushing water filling his ears as they explored the lush surroundings.

“I know these woods like the back of my hand,” Katniss assured him. “This used to be my playground.” She walked down further and the sound of the river intensified. “We have to head to the more shallow area of the river. It’s usually where panning happens.”

“Panning?”

“Panning for gold,” she replied as she pushed a branch away from her face. “Don’t you remember the stories that Effie used to tell us? The ones about the California Gold Rush? It all started because of a rumor of someone finding just a speckle of it.” Katniss turned to him. “A while back, there were rumors of gold around here—maybe Snow heard them.”

Peeta suddenly found himself staring at a deep river. Beside him, Katniss had gone stiff and her grip tightened as she stared down at the inky blue water. The sudden image of her younger self being pulled into the freezing water engulfed his mind and he whipped around to look at her.

“Oh God, Katniss! This is where—“

“I know.” She closed her eyes. “You know how I know?” She pointed across the river to where a large, majestic tree stood, its roots taking up a majority of the ground around it. “It was our tree. My parents and I used to have picnics under it. I learned how to climb because of that tree…” Katniss stopped, her breathing heavy. “If we go to it, you’ll see that my parents’ initials are carved in one of the large roots. It was the spot where my father proposed to my mother.”

Katniss stared out at the river, her eyes hard.

“She picked a spot that she knew we all loved.”

“What are you doing here?” They turned to see an old woman with a tall walking stick heading towards them. “This is private property, you know!”

“We didn’t know,” Peeta informed her and put an arm around Katniss’ prone form. “My wife and I were heading back home and decided to take a walk before our long drive back.”

“This place is cursed,” the woman muttered. “Woman went off the deep end and killed herself along with her little girl. Real tragic.”

“I heard the little girl didn’t die,” Katniss said suddenly.

“No one could survive this cold river, especially after her Momma tied her ankles to some rocks.” The old woman surveyed the area, then turned to the couple. “The name is Sae. I live in the town nearby. Once in a while, I come by here to see if I can gather any plants to sell.”

Peeta gave her a smooth smile. “My name is Rory, and this is my wife, Primrose.” He knew better than to tell her their actual names. “We’re from District Four.”

The old woman seemed to believe their story, giving them a friendly smile. “Any children?”

“Two girls,” Katniss replied stiffly. “They’re staying with their Aunts.”

“I thought this was private property,” Peeta suddenly said to the woman.

“It is.” Sae pointed to the opposite end. “Keep walking and you’ll see a large mill. It was built by the Capitol years ago.”

“What kind of mill?”

“Here’s the thing, young man,” Sae told him. “It was a lumber mill, but I ain’t seen no lumber come out of there in years. Rumor has it that someone found gold in these parts and so they stopped production to search.”

“Gold?” Katniss turned to the woman. “How long ago was that?”

“Over twenty years ago. They said that the man who lived here with his family was the one that found it,” the woman said quietly. “They say that’s the reason that they took him out.”

“Took who out?”

“Lucas Everdeen.” She pointed in the direction of where Katniss’ former home stood. “They made everyone believe that it was because he had pneumonia. No one talked about how he was pulled in for questioning inside that mill one night. He got sick a week or two after that. Then he was dead soon after. No one talks about the fact that he didn’t want to give up his land or even the location of where this supposed gold of his was.”

“Sounds horrible.” Peeta looked over at Katniss, who had turned grey.

“Went after his woman soon after, thinking that they could get information from her,” Sae continued. “She proved them wrong and took herself out along with the girl. I guess the secret dies with them.” The woman looked over at Katniss, noticing her colorless complexion. “Are you alright, Missus?”

“We’re expecting,” Peeta explained and put a hand to her flat abdomen. “It’s early, but the sickness has been strong.” He gave Sae a well-practiced smile. “We were actually coming back from telling my father about our new addition.”

“You better get her back to the main road and out of here,” the woman told Peeta. “If you stop by the town, I can get you something for the nausea.” She put a gentle hand on Katniss’ arm and gave her a smile. “I remember how it felt to be in that situation, though you must be a pro already. Seeing as how you already have two.”

Katniss mustered up a weak smile. “This pregnancy hit me a little harder than the ones with my girls. Maybe this one is a boy.” She looked over at Peeta. “He’s already giving me trouble like his Papa.”

“Come on, darling.” Peeta put an arm around her. “Let’s head out.” He held out his hand to Sae. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” She gave them another smile. “Good luck with everything.”

“Thank you.” Katniss gave her a grateful smile. “It’s been very enlightening.”

With a final wave, they turned and Katniss took his hand in her trembling one. As they walked back up through the trees, she looked over at him.

“I understand now,” Katniss said in a low voice.

“Understand what?”

“Snow once said to me that I owed him in secrets,” she replied as they walked. “It was a little after I gained some fame in the Capitol. I never understood what he meant so I kept on telling him that I didn’t know what he was talking about. Then he told me that since I would not pay him in that aspect—he would find his payment in other ways.”

Her eyes met his tiredly. “Those were the longest years of my life.”

++++++

**_District Four_ **

“Let me go in first,” Haymitch told her when they reached the entrance of the cave. “Just in case.”

“No—we should go in together,” Annie declared, her green eyes suddenly dull as she stared into the darkness of the cave entrance. She turned to him. “Will you hold my hand?”

“Of course.” He took her small hand, enfolding it protectively inside his. Giving her hand a squeeze, Haymitch gave her an encouraging smile. “You have that machine with you?”

Annie held up the little box. “Right here.”

Together, they walked towards the entrance and stepped into the darkness. Haymitch reached into the pocket of his pants to pull out the flashlight that he had brought with him. He could feel Annie’s hand shaking inside his.

“It’s mighty deep in here,” he remarked, his voice echoing in front of him. The small light of his flashlight barely illuminated the ground in front of him, so he walked carefully.

“It gets worse,” Annie whimpered. He could hear the tears in her eyes. “In the dark, I never realized how close he stood to me. Where his hands were…”

Haymitch paused his movements and turned the light to her. Annie’s pale skin was blotchy; her eyes wide and crazed.

“Let’s go back,” he told her. “We don’t have to do this—“

“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!” She let out a choked sob. “NO MORE—I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE!” Her hands scrubbed the tears off her cheeks. “I can’t let him win even though it’s killing me inside. I need to fight this—I need to fight him or else I’m stuck.” Taking a deep breath, Annie looked up at him again. “It’s the only way I can move on.”

“Then Annie—I say this with all the love in my heart—suck it up.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “We have to go down there—and it’s not just for you, but for all of us. We need to do our part of this mission, okay?”

Annie took a deep breath, her expression firm. “Fine.”

They continued their walk down the caverns, their footsteps the only noise in the still air. As they made another turn, he found himself staring at the glowing blue walls of the cave and could hear the dripping of water surrounding them.

“We’re here,” she whispered, her eyes blank. “Just pass that archway and you will see the end.”

“Annie, come with me.”

“Why?”

“Because you need to understand now that no harm will come to you—not while I’m around,” he told her.

“Not while I’m around, either.” They turned suddenly to find Finnick right behind them. “Mags thought that you might need me, Annie.” She looked at him quizzically as he approached her. “And you know how I feel—all you have to do is ask.”

Annie turned and held out her hand to Haymitch who took it gently. Then she met Finnick’s eyes and held out her other hand.

She met his eyes and smiled softly. “Will you hold my hand?”

He nodded and took Annie’s ivory hand in his, the warmth in his eyes lighting the dimmest corners of the cave.

Finnick had done it. He and Effie’s golden boy had found love.

“Let’s go.” Annie led them through the archway, her steps determined.

The machine, already on, lit up immediately, the light shooting up to the highest level.

At the same time, Annie went slack, immediately falling into Finnick’s arms.

++++++

“You sure she’ll be okay?” Finnick asked Mags nervously.

The woman gave him a kind smile and cupped his cheek. She reached into her pocket and wrote on her notepad for Finnick. The young man took Mags’ hand and kissed the top of it.

Mags stood up and patted his head before going to Haymitch at the kitchen table. Sitting across from him, she wrote on her pad and presented her message to him:

**‘Annie is just in shock. She will be okay in the morning.’**

“Glad to hear,” Haymitch said with a warm smile. “What did you tell Finnick?”

She flipped the page to show him, her last message:

**‘You can sleep next to Annie tonight. She will be happy to wake up next to you.’**

++++++

**_Twenty-Miles East of the Great Lakes_ **

Johanna sat in the old dusty library of the town. No one had entered it in years. There was no reason to.

Computers had become the only needed source for information. In a matter of seconds, you could have the knowledge that you needed. It seemed nowadays that the world revolved around knowing as much as you could in the least amount of time.

No one ever thought about the painstaking, beautiful process of writing a book—and the magnificent triumph of having your words translated onto paper. She would’ve made a great author had books not become obsolete to the Capitol.

She had stories to tell.

Opening the next book, she pulled out the old blueprint of the town she had been surveying. Looking at her notepad, she compared the coordinates of Agatha Jones’ home to the ones on the blueprints.

“YES!” Her hiss of triumph ripped through the dusty air. She had found her answer.

Johanna turned to grab her phone from her duffle bag.

And found herself staring into the barrel of a gun.

++++++

**_District Twelve_ **

“Gale?” He opened his eyes to see Rory grinning down at him.

“You’re up early,” Gale remarked tiredly.

“I was going to go see my cousins,” he told the older man.

Rory had found some kin who worked in the mines—two cousins who were a few years older than him. They had taken an instant liking to their young cousin as well as his foster brother.

Gale was able to gain the trust of many of the miners because Rory’s cousins, Danny and Al, were respected among the workers. If they liked him, then so would the others.

He had been quietly taking statements about working conditions in the mining caves. Many were unhappy with their current situations and open to hearing how it could be changed. He had at least half of the workers’ testimonies and had started the quiet beginnings of the strike process.

“Be safe,” Gale said as his head found his pillow again. They were staying in a small bungalow about five minutes from the main part of town. “We’re taking off later tonight.”

“I’ll be quick,” Rory responded with a smile. “After I have a quick chat with the guys, I’m heading to town and picking up some gifts for Prim and Rue.”

The older man nodded and with a wave, Rory walked out the door.

Gale went over the names of the workers he had spoken to as he drifted off into a deep slumber, not hearing the emergency siren that sounded through the town ten minutes later.

++++++

Peeta drove steadily back towards his garage. Katniss slept soundly against his shoulder, the events of the day overwhelming his fiancée. He went over her words and Sae’s in his mind.

Snow had deliberately killed Katniss’ father over some supposed gold which was never found. If there was some secret stash or location, then that information had died with Lucas Everdeen.

Peeta made the turn off the paved road and onto his street.

His heart stopped. The orange light and black clouds coming from the direction of his home filled the night sky.

“Katniss! Wake up!” His foot pressed down on the gas and he was suddenly speeding past the remaining houses.

Katniss sat up, her eyes snapping open as they drove onto the road where his flaming building stood. He stopped and the two immediately jumped out of the car.

“Oh my God!”  She looked over to him, her eyes wide with fear. “The girls!”

“PEETA! KATNISS!”

They turned to find Portia and Octavia rushing to them, each holding the hand of one of their girls. Katniss fell to her knees and the two young girls rushed into her arms.

Portia went to him, her face solemn. “We’re so sorry.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “We didn’t hear anything until one of the garage windows burst.”

“The girls are shaken, but okay,” Octavia informed him.

“I’m just glad that you’re all okay,” he said in relief and pulled the two women into his arms. “Thank you for keeping my girls safe.”

“Of course,” Portia replied.

“PEETA!” One of the girls called out and he was falling to the ground to pull his two daughters into his arms.

He could feel the tears beginning to form. What if they had been hurt?

“Don’t cry,” Prim said as they all pulled apart. “We kept safe and still.” Rue nodded in affirmation.

“Good girls,” he replied as he stood up and kissed both of their foreheads.

“Oh, Peeta…” He turned to see Katniss watching him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Everything you’ve worked for.”

“It means nothing,” Peeta replied and pulled her close. “Nothing matters now but the safety of you and our girls and all that I need is you.”

 Katniss pressed her lips to his. “We will start again. I promise.”

They turned to watch the building that he had worked for crumble in front of them. Peeta had rescued her from hell and brought her here – to his haven. They had fallen in love again in their old garage home.

It had been the place that they believed was safe.

Now, nowhere was safe.

++++++

Haymitch awoke to his sound of his phone ringing and shot up immediately. At seeing the name on the phone, an icy block settled in his stomach.

Behind him, he could hear Finnick and Annie stirring from their sleep.

“What’s going on?” Annie asked groggily as Mags turned up the lantern on the table. The woman had been sleeping on the mattress adjacent to his.

Haymitch hurriedly open the phone to answer the call. “Hello?” No answer. “HELLO?”

The trembling voice made his insides recoil. “Haymitch? I’M SORRY! I’M SO SORRY!”

“What are you talking about?” he demanded in fear.

“There was an accident,” Gale sobbed through the phone. “Rory…Rory’s dead.”

* * *

 

This is the end of Part Five---and well, I’m sorry. Kicks to the face are welcomed.

Also, there is quite a lot of information in this chapter, so you’ll need some time to gather your bearings.

I can’t reveal much of the next chapter, other than it is going to take place in District Twelve and we will find out who is holding the gun on Johanna.

Songs:

“Let It Be Me”- The Everly Brothers

“Land of the Sea and Sun”- Baha Men

Until Part Six, JLaLa


	6. Part Six: Insatiable

Thank you to everyone whose reading! I appreciate your feedback!

The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.

Thank you to my beta, Chelzie, who is just the best.

Lazy

Part Six: Insatiable

Haymitch remembered the first time that he met sweet Rory.

The little boy came to them with his big grey eyes and a trembling smile. His parents had died unexpectedly from a disease that had ravaged District 12, similar to Gale’s family. He was quiet and curious, always eager to open the many drawers of their creaky house.

Effie would let him explore her vanity. The little boy would open her compacts and touch her hairbrushes. His wife was always patient, using her brushes to comb his raven hair, and jokingly brushing his nose with her powder puffs.

Haymitch often let Rory sit in his office to read the small collection of books that he owned. The little boy loved Charles Dickens books, especially _A Christmas Carol_.

When Haymitch asked what had drawn him to this specific book, his response was simple:

“It teaches me that everyone, even the worst people, can change.”

Rory was an optimist—and at so many moments had warmed Haymitch’s Scrooge-like countenance.

Now he was gone.

“Haymitch—” Gale called out in an unsteady voice. “Say something…please.”

A heavy sob threatened to escape his mouth. However, Haymitch swallowed it quickly. He could see the panic in Annie and Finnick’s eyes and the concern in Mags’.

“Are you okay?” he managed to ask Gale. Haymitch could hear the whimpers beginning to come out of the man.

“No…the cave is completely collapsed…everyone is gone…” Gale began to sob despondently into the receiver, his words blurred with tears. “I’m sorry…I disappointed you…and Effie. I didn’t protect Rory...”

He shook his head. “No, this isn’t your fault. We’re coming to District 12—we’re coming for you, son.”

“Please hurry.” Gale’s voice shook through the phone. “Please, Dad.”

Gale had never called him that—the boy was the kind to keep people at an arm’s length. For Gale had learnt, long ago, that nothing lasts forever. So, he was never affectionate, or weak—and he never had faith in anything but himself.

He had called Effie, ‘Mom’, once. Right before Gale was taken from them, he had suffered a bad fever _._

_Finnick and Peeta had been relegated to sleeping in the living room as Effie took care of the ailing teenager. She had spent all night placing cool towels on his hot forehead and singing to soothe him._

_As Effie kissed him goodnight, Gale had called her “Mom”._

_“He was probably delirious with fever,” she told Haymitch off-handedly, later that night. Her pretty eyes, however, were bright with happiness._

_“Maybe,” Haymitch had told her. “I think, however, somewhere inside that sullen young man is someone who desperately wishes that you were his mother. He just doesn’t want to hope too much for himself—because it will get taken away.”_

_“Then we have to make sure he knows that we’re always going to be here—no matter where he goes,” Effie said to him._

Haymitch desperately wanted to keep their home for this very reason, so their children would always have a place to call home, no matter what was happening to them.

But everything was falling apart. And, he was tired—so tired.

“Hang in there,” he told Gale. “I promise. We will be there soon.”

There was a mumbled response before Gale hung up the phone.

Annie placed a hand on his shoulder, her emerald eyes shimmering as she met his eyes. “What’s going on?”

Haymitch turned to her as he stood up. “Pack your things. We have to go to District 12.” He was caught off-guard when Annie reached out to wipe his cheek, where a lone tear had fallen. “There was a mine collapse. Rory was inside—” Finnick and Annie both gasped. “And your brother needs us. We can’t leave Gale alone.”

Finnick nodded. “Of course, we’ll get everything ready.” Suddenly, he went to his foster father and pulled him into a brief hug. “I’m really sorry, Haymitch.”

“I’ll be fine,” Haymitch assured him. “Just get ready while I call everyone else.”

The couple nodded before rushing across the room to pack their things.

Mags sat across from him. Taking her pad and pen out, she wrote quickly before presenting her note:

**I’m sorry to hear about your boy.**

“Thanks,” he told her. “I’m sorry that we have to cut this trip short.”

She shook her head and wrote once more, **Your children need you**.

Haymitch met her eyes. “Mags, how will I tell the rest of them?”

Writing quickly, she presented her pad once more, before squeezing his hand.

**As gently as you can.**

++++++

**_Twenty-Miles East of the Great Lakes_ **

“You’re not going to shoot me,” Johanna said steadily.

“I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect my grandmother,” Senator Paylor replied, her gun still pointed at Johanna’s forehead. “She’s all I have left.”

“I’m just trying to do the same.” Johanna looked at the strong, chocolate-skinned woman in front of her. She could see the shakiness in her stance and was confident that if the woman wanted to kill her, she would have done it already. “President Snow is trying to take away my childhood home — for some goddamn oil. And he’s doing the same thing to you with that aquifer.”

Johanna moved forward, pressing her forehead to the barrel of the gun. “Go ahead, shoot me if you want. Just remember who the real enemy is.”

Slowly, Johanna felt the cool metal leave her forehead.

“Sit,” Paylor commanded. Johanna pulled out a chair and sat down. “Explain.”

“Are you going to put that gun down?” Johanna asked.

Paylor’s mouth raised in a small smile. Taking the gun, she placed it down on the far end of the table before sitting across from Johanna.

“You’ve got gumption,” Paylor told her. “I happen to like that.”

Johanna sat back. “How did you know that I was here?”

“My grandmother saw you walking around town,” the woman informed Johanna. “She may be old, but she is always aware. Snow’s had people casing her joint for years.” Paylor shifted behind her and pulled out a box of cigarettes. “Do you want one?”

Johanna quickly took one and Paylor held out her lighter for her. “Appreciate it—I left my last box with a friend of mine.” She took in a deep drag, enjoying the feeling of the nicotine filling her body and calming it immediately.

“So, now that you’re comfortable,” Paylor said as their eyes met. “I need to know what’s going on.”

Taking another drag, Johanna blew it out before beginning her story. She told the woman of her childhood—what she could remember, anyway. About her father, whose eyes she inherited and her mother, whose smile she missed. There was also the little brother, who she could barely remember and somehow she found that she couldn’t even remember his name.

Johanna remembered screaming it, over and over, as she saw the burnt hovel that was her home. Yet for the life of her, she could not remember the name that her mouth formed.

She continued her tale with the time she spent with Haymitch and Effie, the man and woman who had become her parents. Haymitch with his gruff, solid presence and sweet Effie, who was always ready with a hug for her young self. She never felt more at home than when she was held by Effie.

Johanna went on to her foster brothers and sisters. She started with her roommates—the strange yet beautiful Annie, and the strong and striking Katniss. Johanna had envied them both—for the two had talents in spades. Annie could create things in that funny little mind of hers—concoctions that could bring men to their knees and cause women to spill their secrets.

Katniss had that certain appeal that seemed to call out to all men—an untapped sensuality that she was completely unaware of. Johanna had watched throughout her whole adolescence as the boys stared. While Finnick only teased Katniss, it seemed that he carried his torch for certain crazy, green-eyed girls. Gale looked at Katniss longingly, almost possessively. Maybe he felt that because he and Katniss shared the same coloring that they belonged to one another in some way.

Everyone, however, knew that Katniss belonged to Peeta. It was sickening how those two seemed to just fit.

And Johanna hated it—because long ago she thought she had wanted it, too.

She told Paylor of learning of Effie’s death—and how painful it was to know that she hadn’t been there to say goodbye. Effie had begged Haymitch to not call any of them. There was no medicine in the Capitol that could save her and her mother knew it.

It never stopped the guilt that she felt, for Johanna could never seem to do enough to help the people that she loved the most.

“So now you know everything,” Johanna said as she finished. “You still want to shoot me?”

“Do you really think that you and your family can really take down someone like Snow?” Paylor responded skeptically.

“It’s not like we don’t know that it’s a risk,” she argued. “But we have to do something. _I_ have to do something.”

Paylor leaned forward, her dark eyes peering at Johanna. “Listen, there are people out there in the Capitol who feel the same way. That kind of thinking, however, causes your drink to get poisoned at Snow’s next party.”

“Are you one of those people?” Johanna countered.

Paylor nodded, just barely.

Johanna’s cell phone buzzed on the table and she could see Haymitch’s number flashing on the screen. “It’s my father.” She picked up quickly, watching Paylor, who sat motionless across the table. “Hello?”

“Johanna…” There was raw heaviness in Haymitch’s voice that prickled her insides. “Go to District 12—now. Gale needs us.” She heard his voice break. “W-We will take too long and so will Katniss and Peeta… and the girls. Oh God—I forgot the girls!”

“What happened?” She stood up and turned from Paylor. “What happened to Gale?”

“Not Gale,” Haymitch told her roughly. “Rory. There was mine collapse—and my boy was inside…” She could hear him stop short of a sob.

“I’m going now,” she assured him. “I’m so sorry.” Johanna felt the tears filling her eyes. “He was a good boy and that was because of you.”

“Thanks, sweetheart—I’ll see you soon.”

Haymitch hung up quickly and she turned to Paylor.

“Lucky you. I have to go.” She went to her bag and threw everything she could into it. “You had your chance to shoot me…”

Paylor stood up abruptly. “What happened?”

“My younger brother is dead—another one,” Johanna told her bluntly. She was surprised to feel tears springing to her eyes. “His name was Rory and he was one of the last foster children that Effie had before she passed—” Johanna stopped to take a breath. “At least I remembered his name.”

The woman went to her. “I’m sorry, Johanna.”

“Me too,” she told Paylor. Her hands went to the blueprints. “Can I take these?” The woman said nothing, so she stuffed them into her bag. “I’ll see you around.”

Pulling the bag’s strap onto her shoulder, Johanna turned to head out of the library.

“Johanna!” She turned to back to Senator Paylor. “Snow is having his annual ball next week. Do you think I’ll see you there?” Walking to her, Johanna was impressed with the height of the woman. Paylor held out a silver envelope. “I think you might meet some people who share your same ideals.”

Johanna smiled and nodded. “I’ll bring my family. They have always wanted to meet Snow personally.”

++++++

They had finally put the girls to bed when Peeta’s phone rang.

Portia and Octavia had a pull-out couch that the girls had been sleeping on while they stayed with the women. Prim and Rue were now fast asleep on it.

Katniss sat by the pull-out, holding Rue’s hand. Their daughter had been terrified at seeing the flames.

Prim told them that Rue’s mother had set her husband on fire while he was sleeping—as Rue watched. Soon after, they took her mother away to a facility and Rue went to stay with Effie and Haymitch.

“Who is it?” Katniss asked when his phone beeped.

“Haymitch,” he told her before picking up quickly. “Have I got news for you…”

“Are you alright?” Their foster father asked immediately.

“While Katniss and I were gone, my garage was burnt to the ground.” Peeta turned away from Katniss and the sleeping girls. “Someone’s trying to kill us, Haymitch. Someone knew that we were coming back tonight, but they missed us—just barely. Katniss and I just happened to arrive home late.”

“Oh, God… the girls! Are they alright?” Haymitch’s voice seemed tortured. “Rue? I don’t know if she or Prim talked to you—”

“Prim told us about Rue’s parents,” Peeta assured him. “They were with my neighbors, Portia and Octavia, when it happened.” He heard Haymitch let out a somber moan into the line. “Haymitch—what’s going on?”

“You need to come to District 12,” the man told him in anguish. “I don’t know how you and Katniss will be able to do this, but you’ll have to tell the girls—” Peeta heard him let out a short breath. “Rory was killed in a mine collapse this morning.”

“No.” He turned to Katniss and beckoned her over. “How could this happened?”

Haymitch sniffed into the receiver. “I thought it was an accident,” he said in a broken voice. “But someone tried to kill you, Katniss, and the girls… so maybe it wasn’t. Annie, Finnick, and I are already on the road. Johanna should be there when we arrive. We’ll be expecting you in District 12—Gale needs us.”

“Of course.” Peeta had never been truly close to Gale, but the man was family and he shouldn’t be alone trying to deal with all of this. “How could this happen?” Katniss put a hand on his shoulder as she leaned close to listen in.

“Snow knows,” Haymitch replied. “This is just the beginning.”

“Well, we’re ending this soon,” Peeta assured him. “We will see you in 12.”

“Keep safe, Peeta.” The line suddenly went dead.

“Peeta,” Katniss asked quietly as to not wake their daughters. “What happened?”

Taking her hand, Peeta led her away from the girls and towards the front of the long living room where Portia’s piano sat. He let her sit on the long bench before joining her side and weaving his fingers through hers once more.

Katniss stared at him worriedly. “Peeta, you’re scaring me.”

“There was an accident in District 12,” he started. “A mine collapse—” Peeta let out a slow breath, trying to get the words out. “Rory was inside.” Katniss let out a choked gasp. “There were no survivors.” He looked over to see Katniss completely pale, her body shaking. “Baby, are you alright?”

“He was just a boy,” Katniss said to him. Her eyes went to their daughters, asleep on the pull-out couch. “The same age as Rue and Prim—and now he’s gone.” She began to cry and a hand went to cover her sobs. “How will we tell them?”

Peeta gathered her into his arms. “I don’t know…but we have to go to District 12 tonight. Gale is by himself and his family should be with him.” He kissed the top of her hair gently. “Also, we’re not safe here anymore. Now that Haymitch knows about my garage, he’s starting to believe that the collapse wasn’t an accident.”

“Katniss, Peeta – what’s wrong?” They pulled away to see Prim and Rue standing in front of them.

“Girls, come sit,” Katniss told them as she wiped her eyes. Splitting apart, they let the girls sit in-between them. “We have something to tell you. The first thing is that we’re leaving for District 12—tonight.”

“Why?” Rue asked softly.

Peeta put an arm around the young girl. “There was an accident at a coal mine this morning.”

“A bad one?” Prim asked from where she sat next to Katniss. “Rory said he thought that he had family in 12—were they in the mine?”

Slowly, Peeta nodded. “I’m not sure,” he told her. “Girls, this accident was bad. The mine collapsed—and there were no survivors.” He watched the eyes of his daughters widen. “Rory was in that mine—”

“NO!” Prim stood up. “He would’ve run!”

“Honey,” Katniss said, her eyes heavy as she watched Prim’s sadness form. “Coal mines are underground and there is usually one elevator to get in and out. So, it’s unlikely that he would’ve been able to run—”

Prim backed away, her cornflower eyes shining. She shook her head at them.

“I don’t believe you,” Prim replied in a quivering voice. “Rory promised that we would all be together again. It isn’t fair!” She turned and walked down the hallway to the bathroom. They heard the door slam, followed by the muffled wail of the young girl.

“Give her a few minutes,” Peeta told Katniss as she stood up, wanting to check on Prim. He looked to Rue. “Are you alright?”

“How am I supposed to feel?” she asked, her chocolate eyes brimming with tears. “Rory was pretty much like a brother to me. For a long time, it was just the three of us in the house. I feel like we see nothing but death around us! First my father, then Effie, and now Rory—it seems like we’re cursed.” She stood up and wiped her eyes. “I should go check on Prim.”

Abruptly, Peeta stood up and pulled the girl into his arms. “You’re not cursed—you’re blessed because you’re still here, despite everything you’ve been through. And we are blessed because you belong to us.” Katniss joined them, wrapping her arms around Rue. “We will protect you, no matter what.”

“That’s the one thing that I know is true,” Rue whispered against them. Pulling away, she looked at both of them. “But losing Rory is different for Prim. You see, before we left—he promised that we would see each other again. Prim didn’t believe him—so he kissed her, sort like a promise.” She shifted uncomfortably. “Prim has always admired your relationship. Annie told her about how you had promised, before you were separated, that you would find each other—and you did.”

“Prim doesn’t understand what we’ve done, both together and apart,” Katniss told her. “We’ve done some things that we’ll pay for the rest of our lives.”

“But you’d do it again, right? Just to be together?” Rue asked.

Katniss looked to Peeta and he took her hand. “Of course,” he told her daughter.

“In a heartbeat,” Katniss agreed.

“Prim wanted that too—and I think in her own way, she had hoped that it would be with Rory,” Rue told them. “And now he is gone. My brother is dead and my sister is destroyed by it.”

“You know we feel the same way about you and Prim,” Katniss said to her softly. “We wouldn’t change anything because we found you both.”

Rue stood looking at each of them, and Peeta could tell that she was analyzing their words. She was a cautious girl. But who could blame her?

“Mom?” Katniss let out a shaky breath at her call. “Dad?” He met her eyes. “I think we need to check on her together.” Rue sucked in a sob though the tears leaking from her eyes. “Because I can’t stand to see the look on her face—I’m not strong enough.” Katniss reached for her. “I’m just too young for all of this.”

“No one wants you to grow up too fast, anyway,” Katniss cooed. Her eyes met his and she held out her hand for him to squeeze.

“Mom? Dad?” They looked up to see Prim wobbling before them, her blue eyes rimmed with red. “Are we leaving soon? Rory said that all of us would be together again—I just didn’t think that it would be this way…”

Her knees gave way and Peeta found himself diving towards Prim to catch her. She fell against him, her face on his chest as she sobbed loud, heartbroken sobs.

Her cries echoed into the living room, bringing Portia and Octavia out from their room to see the little family of four gathered together on the floor in a broken embrace.

++++++

**_District 12_ **

Johanna tiredly made her way towards the center of the main town. The train ride had been hell and she found herself unable to rest as her cart shook against the rough tracks. Looking around, she found the town practically empty, though it was already late into the morning.

She watched for a moment and saw many of the townspeople walking to the far end of the long town road before disappearing to the left. Curiously, Johanna followed the path up the road and made the left.

It was then she saw what the crowd was walking towards. It was a platform—in front of the rubble that was the mine.

Johanna felt her heart begin to race at the thought of poor Rory. Did he know what was happening as the world was falling around him? She prayed that his death was quick and painless.

A makeshift memorial had formed at the mine’s entrance. Flowers were placed against the rubble, along with pictures of some of the loved ones. A small stuffed bear caught her eyes and Johanna knelt to touch the hand of the soft toy.

“I know you’re angry,” a voice suddenly called out and the timbre of it caused a shiver to shoot down her spine.

Standing, Johanna turned to see Gale standing on the platform. A crowd had gathered to listen to her friend. She could see how he had changed—how gaunt and tired he was. His grey eyes were full of fire as he spoke, but she could see that the crowd was captivated by him—as was she.

“You have lost friends, husbands, fathers—and brothers,” Gale continued. “So have I. This was _not_ an accident! THIS WAS THE CAPITOL! This was the Capitol telling you that you are worthless! That your lives mean nothing to them! Because they believe that you have nothing without them! THAT IS NOT TRUE! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE SILENT!”

“YEAH!” The crowd chorused.

“In two days, Peacekeepers will arrive to complete the cave-in,” Gale informed them. “They will give you your meaningless pension—barely enough for your families to survive a week. Let them know that the lives lost are worth more than a week’s worth of wheat. LET THEM KNOW YOUR WORTH! DISTRICT 12 WILL NOT BE IGNORED!”

“REVOLT! REVOLT! REVOLT!” the people cried out.

Johanna had to give it to him. When he was in full-force, Gale was captivating. The crowd was up in arms as people gathered to shake his hand.

Somehow, he seemed to know that she was there—because his eyes immediately found hers in the sea of people.

Gale’s mouth broke into a grin and he jumped off the platform to rush over to her.

She found her bag falling from her shoulders as he pulled her into his arms. Johanna could smell the smokiness of District 12 against his skin and her eyes filled with tears as she took him in.

“Gale—it’s been too damn long.”

“It’s only been a few days,” he told her with a sad smile. Pulling away, he met her eyes. “But I understand what you mean.” Taking her bag, Gale threw it over his shoulder easily and put an arm around her. “Everyone here has been in kind of a coma. There’s over 100 men gone—including Rory.”

Gale led her away from the crowd and down a dirt path. They remained silent, both lost in their own thoughts of the past few days. Johanna suddenly focused on the lush wood that they were surrounded by.

“Where are we?” she asked as they took a turn, and her gaze fell upon a small wooden cabin.

“It’s where Rory and I were staying,” he told her as they walked onto the porch. Opening the door, Gale let her walk through first. “It’s not much—but we were never really doing anything but sleeping here anyway. Most of the time, Rory would just hang around with his cousins while I interviewed some of the mine workers.”

Johanna saw him falter and immediately the strong face of the District 12 revolt crumbled, revealing the torment that Gale had been suffering. Tiredly, he sat down on the lone chair next to the small table.

There was very little in the cabin besides the table, the rickety chair, and the bed that didn’t even look like it had been used.

“Have you been sleeping?” she asked as he rested an elbow against the table. “You look like shit.”

“How can I?” he replied as his bloodshot eyes met hers. “Whenever I close my eyes, I hear that emergency siren…and I hear the rumble under me…and screaming.” Gale squeezed his eyes tightly. “Do you think Rory knew that he was going to die?”

Johanna walked over to Gale, bringing his head against her stomach. His arms wrapped around her waist securely as her hands went to his hair, her fingers gently massaging his scalp. He seem to sink into her touch easily.

“I hope not,” she told him honestly. “I hope it was quick—like blowing a candle out.” Leaning down, Johanna found her lips touching the top of his head. She could feel the sadness overtaking him and feared that he would let himself drown in the horror of knowing that Rory died by Snow’s hands. “You need to rest.”

Pulling his stubborn body up, she led him towards the bed. Gale laid down listlessly and after taking her jacket off, Johanna crawled over next to him.

“What are you doing?” he asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his back.

“I used to dream about my parents and my brother—in our burning house,” she told him. “And whenever I did, Effie would come into the room and wrap her arms around me like this.” Johanna felt his hands cover hers. “She would say, ‘I won’t let go until you tell me to. I’m not going anywhere.’ For a while, I didn’t believe her, so I would stay up. Eventually, I began to sleep and the dreams went away.”

“You’re going to hold me until I go to sleep?” he teased gruffly.

“I can do other things if you want,” she suddenly suggested.

“That always leads to trouble.” Gale turned to face her and his hand reached out to tuck her dark hair behind her ear. “I knew you would come first.”

She rolled her eyes. “Haymitch told you I would.”

“Even before that—I knew you would come first,” Gale argued. “You always seemed to understand me a little better.”

“Be real, Gale. Everyone else is pairing up so you think that we should just happen. And you’re lonely and in pain, which just leads to all kinds of complicated things,” Johanna replied. “I’m not complicated and neither are you. We don’t want love or companionship. We just need someone to distract us.”

“Until something else comes along,” he finished for her. Johanna nodded as her hands went to undo his belt buckle. “I need to be distracted.”

“Why?” she asked as she sat up and straddled him. Gale reached under his pillow and pulled out two satchels, one blue and the other a deep brown. Opening them, Johanna looked inside to see a daisy flower clip in each. “What are these?”

“They were the presents that Rory bought for Prim and Rue—the ones that he never picked up—” Gale stopped and turned away from her. She could see the tears forming at the edges of his eyes.

It was confusing to see Gale go from one man to another in only seconds—strong, sad, weak, desirable…

Johanna had only been with him for less than two hours, and she was very confused.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said truthfully.

Gale shrugged helplessly below her. “I don’t know what to do, either.” His hands reached to play with the waistband of her jeans as her own went to undo the buttons of her shirt. “Just don’t let me go until I tell you to.”

Johanna nodded as she shrugged her shirt off. “I’m not going anywhere.”

++++++

They didn’t reach District 12 until dusk; the sky was clinging to the last bit of orange as Haymitch parked in front of the cabin. A townsman had instructed him on how to reach the small, inconspicuous cabin off the border of the forest and only ten minutes from the coal mines.

Finnick and Annie sat in the back of the Jeep, fast asleep, their heads pressed together. They looked very much like children cuddling after story time.

Though all his foster children were far from little kids.

A single light shone from a lone window and Haymitch opened his door, closing it quietly as he stepped out.

Walking to the window, he caught only a quick glimpse of a slim bare back and tangled sheets before stepping away.

Johanna and Gale together; it made sense—and yet it didn’t.

Going to the door, Haymitch rapped against the hard wood and waited. After a moment, the door opened slowly and Johanna peeked out, fully clothed, though the rest of her was in disarray.

“Haymitch,” she said simply in greeting.

“Johanna,” he replied in a hard voice. “Annie and Finnick are asleep in the car. Peeta, Katniss and the girls are on their way. Wake him up and get him dressed.”

Haymitch didn’t mean to sound terse—but he was tired and the wreckage that was the collapsed mine haunted his weary mind. Johanna nodded, looking at him in shame, before closing the door. She was hurt by his callousness towards her.

After a minute, Johanna stepped out and closed the door behind her. “He’s getting dressed.”

Haymitch turned to her. “I didn’t mean to sound so harsh, Johanna,” he began. “When I said he needed us, I never meant to imply that you give into his other needs—”

“I’m not good with hugs or sympathetic words,” Johanna interrupted as her eyes looked out into the forest in front of them. “That’s not me, Haymitch. We’re notKatniss and Peeta, or Annie and Finnick. And we’re not you and Effie. That’s not our way of life—we know what we need to do for ourselves to survive. I need to have my revenge and Gale needs to have his revolution. Everything else is only secondary.”

“And your family—where do we fit in?” he asked her.

Johanna gave him a smile. “You are all the exception to that rule.”

The door opened and Gale emerged, dark circles under his eyes and his jaw tight. However, when his eyes went to Haymitch—something broke and he was rushing to the older man, who enfolded him in his arms.

“I-I’m sorry…” Gale sobbed into his shoulder, his body sagging against his foster father’s. “I didn’t see the signs that Snow was watching! I SHOULD’VE BEEN WITH HIM!”

Haymitch held him tighter. “No. Losing one son has broken my heart,” he told Gale tenderly. “Losing another would have killed me.” He heard the door to the Jeep close as Annie and Finnick left the car. Johanna ran to them and the couple engulfed her in a hug.

A set of headlights signaled the arrival of the last group. The Green 4Runner stopped alongside the Jeep and as the lights went off—Prim and Rue jumped out of the car. Peeta and Katniss followed soon after as they tiredly opened their doors.

As Haymitch and Gale pulled apart, the girls rushed towards their older brother. Gale fell to his knees and pulled the two girls to him.

“I’m sorry,” he said against them. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep him safe.”

Prim sniffled as she offered him a shaky smile. “Rory was really excited to come to District 12,” she said, her blue eyes somber.

“And he was happy, right? Until the end?” Rue asked Gale as she bit her lip to stop her tears.

He took a shaky breath and gave his little sisters a smile. “Yes—until the very end.”

++++++

Opening his eyes, Haymitch sat up slowly and looked around. The small cabin was littered with an array of sleeping people. Rue and Prim slept in the lone bed, the hair clips from Rory in each of the girls’ messy tendrils.

Annie and Finnick slept by the window, the morning sun shining on the couple. Peeta and Katniss were by the fireplace, bundled in a thin blanket that Peeta’s neighbors made for them. Johanna slept in the chair in one corner, as Gale slept against the wall in the opposite corner.

Haymitch had slept at the foot of the bed, and now he was regretting it.

Standing up, he grimaced as a spasm hit his lower back. The children remained asleep, so he quietly opened the door and stepped onto the porch. The sun was just beginning to rise, and in the twilight, the greyness of District 12 seemed to dissipate.

It was beautiful and peaceful—the kind of place that Haymitch had imagined where he and Effie would grow old together.

“Effie, darling,” he called out wearily. “I think it might be time for me to let go—to stop fighting. I think you would understand. I just can’t lose any more of them. Our Rory is gone—and I hope that wherever you are up there, you’ve found him.”

“That’s why we have to keep fighting.” Gale stood next to him. “I used to believe that I only needed to do what was beneficial for me. In the end, it never felt good. It never felt like enough and I never felt enough because of it. But fighting and helping District 12 in a revolution is the best way for me to honor Rory—and to honor you and Mom. Doing this is making me feel whole again.”

“You know Effie always remembered that one time that you called her Mom—she cherished it, actually,” Haymitch told his son.

Gale’s mouth shook as he looked over at Haymitch. “I should’ve said it more.”

He put an arm around Gale. “She knew anyway.”

And, just like that, the spark that began to fade in Haymitch was lit again—and he felt the long-lost stirrings of hope as he and Gale watched the sunrise in silence.

* * *

 

I can’t believe that we are one away from the last chapter.

I am aware that in canon, Paylor is actually a Commander and not a Senator, but it works better for the story for her to have more a Capitol-based title. There are a few people whose titles have changed in the next chapter.

I know that there are still unanswered questions—like what exactly is planned for Snow? Also, where is this supposed gold in Katniss’ hometown?

I know there was a bit of POV change with Johanna—but it needed to be done to keep the story going and I liked this little added element. Besides Gale, I see a little attraction towards Johanna coming from someone else too…

The reason for Johanna’s lack of remembrance, especially her brother’s name, is something purely psychological. There is a subplot in the epilogue that will reveal her brother’s name.

All shall be answered in the last and final chapter—Katniss’ chapter, and the ultimate return to the Capitol.

As always, hellos, comments and reviews are welcomed on Tumblr, FF, and AO3!

Until Part Seven, JLaLa

 


	7. Part Seven: Hunger

We’re finally to the end—except for the epilogue. Thank you for your support!

The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.

Thank you to Chelzie, my beta, for her constant support—she’s fab!

Just FYI—like the last chapter, there will be a multiple POV.

**_Trigger Alerts: mentions of sexual assault, pedophilia, and prostitution. Attempted murder and suicide scene in the beginning italicized sequence._ **

Lazy

Part Seven: Hunger

_“Katniss…wake up!” She opened her eyes quickly to see her Mommy sitting next to her in bed._

_Mommy’s eyes were strange again—the kind of strange that made her Mommy talk to herself or even her Daddy._

_Even though Daddy was dead now._

_He was cold and buried in the ground—and there was nothing they could do about it._

_“GET UP!” Mommy demanded and Katniss listened dutifully, wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm in the dark, cold cabin. “They won’t get it…no one will…they think that they could take my Lucas away…the secret will die with us….” Katniss looked over as her mother gathered a small satchel from the table before rushing over to grab her daughter by the wrist. “Hurry up!”_

_“Mommy—” Katniss didn’t have time to put on her coat because she was being pulled out the door. Down the steps and into the forest in front of them, she tried to keep up but Mommy was going too fast and her wrist was starting to hurt. “You’re hurting me, Mommy!”_

_“Katniss, don’t you want to see your Daddy?” her mother asked as they continued through the forest. Branches scratched at Katniss’ cold face. It hurt, but she knew better than to say anything to Mommy— especially when she was like this. “He’s waiting for us!”_

_Her heart jumped at the words—for Katniss missed her Daddy. When Daddy was around, Mommy didn’t act strange or forget to feed her. She didn’t speak to herself or pull her hair out whenever the strange men came to talk to her._

_When Daddy was around, everything was okay._

_Katniss heard the rush of water and they suddenly stopped in front of the river. Their tree stood across from them, tall and strong. She could climb all the way up on it now and could even fit under the pushed up roots._

_“Are you, are you…coming to the tree…” Mommy sang softly to herself as she pulled the metal box out from her satchel. “Katniss, come here.”_

_Quickly, she went to her Mommy. “When’s Daddy coming?” she asked carefully._

_“He’s not coming, Katniss,” her Mommy replied, her smile soft as she pulled a rope from the satchel. She took the metal box and tied a hard knot onto the handle of it. Her Mommy hummed as she continued to wrap the rope around the box. “We have to go to him.”_

_“Daddy is in heaven,” she said softly. That’s what the priest said to her and Mommy when they put Daddy in the ground. “How can we go to him?”_

_“Katniss, heaven is not up in the sky like people tell you,” her mother said. Getting up, she lugged the box to the edge of the river and threw it with all her might. Katniss could see the long rope disappearing into the dark river. “So we have to swim to heaven and find him.”_

_She turned to her Mommy. “I don’t know how to swim…”_

_It all happened so quickly—Mommy was tying her ankles with the rope and it hurt. She started to cry but the light in her Mommy’s eyes quickly quieted her whimpers._

_“PLEASE, MOMMY! I’M SCARED!” She struggled as her mother grabbed her wrist. “STOP IT, MOMMY!”_

_The water was getting closer to her._

_“DON’T BE AFRAID, KATNISS! JUST CLOSE YOUR EYES—AND YOU WILL SEE YOUR FATHER!”_

_But it was so cold. The water was so cold._

_And it was filling her lungs._

_Filling them quickly and making it harder to scream…_

_Then there was nothing else._

++++++

“KATNISS! STOP FIGHTING ME!”

Someone grabbed her flailing hands and her eyes snapped open to meet Peeta’s panicked blue ones.

Katniss let out a breath of relief at seeing him in front of her. “Peeta?”

He nodded in assurance, quickly pulling her onto his lap and rocking her. She could feel the sweat all over her body, sticking to her clothes and to Peeta’s skin. The tears that had escaped her eyes in her sleep heated her cheeks.

“It was just a nightmare,” Peeta whispered, his lips against her drenched hair. “You’re okay now.”

“She needs water,” Annie said from behind them. They pulled away to see their sister holding out a mug. Annie knelt before them to offer the cup to her. “Drink. Your throat is probably dry from all that screaming.”

“Yeah,” Johanna added as she joined the couple on the floor with a towel in her hand. She patted Katniss’ forehead, wiping the sweat away. “That must have been one hell of a dream.”

Behind them, she could see Haymitch and Gale, who had just rushed into the cabin, watching her worriedly. Finnick sat nervously in the lone chair in the room, his elbows resting on his thigh and hands fidgeting.

“It wasn’t a dream—it was a flashback,” she finally said, her voice hoarse. She looked up to Prim and Rue sitting up in bed. They looked afraid—and they probably had good reason to be. She could feel her heart beginning to calm down and after taking a sip of water, she let out a slow breath. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Peeta said softly. “Do you want to talk about it?” She felt herself slowly returning to normal. Peeta always seemed to find a way to bring her back. There was that constant assurance of love in his eyes. Since they found each other, Katniss had never been afraid, never been scared—because Peeta was there to protect her as she was there to protect him.

“Not yet,” she told him. “Right now, I just want to hug my daughters.” Katniss looked up at Prim and Rue. The two of them were already jumping out of the bed and she held her arms out to them. They found their way to her quickly and she enclosed them in her embrace. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“It’s okay, Mom,” Rue said softly. “Everyone has bad memories.”

“Sometimes they come rushing out,” Prim continued, her voice haunted. “No matter how hard we try to bury them.”

++++++

Peeta found Katniss sitting on the porch stairs staring out into the dark forest, her arms wrapped around herself.

Haymitch had told them that they needed a day to rest—and to mourn Rory.

Everyone had heartily agreed and gone about to do their own thing. Rue and Prim disappeared with their foster father to visit the collapsed mine and to place flowers at the site. Finnick and Annie were inside cooking dinner with the bag of groceries that Gale had provided.

Before leaving to talk to some of the townspeople about tomorrow’s protest, Gale pulled Peeta aside and told him that he had gotten Katniss a can of lamb stew. It had been Katniss’ favorite food—at least the version that Effie had cooked for them.

“She should eat,” he told Peeta gruffly. “The next few days are going to be brutal.” The man said it without any form of malice or jealousy; it was just his way of saying that he was worried about Katniss. Also, that there was no sort of romantic intent—Gale knew where he stood in Katniss’ eyes.

“Thanks. I’ll have Annie make it for her tonight.” He could see that Gale was exhausted and in pain. “You know that there was nothing you could do—about the mine collapse, right?”

“I know—but, the townspeople need me, especially tomorrow,” he told Peeta. “I have to do something.”

Peeta nodded in understanding. Gale liked to feel needed and he needed a distraction from the pain. Idleness was never a good thing when it came to any of the boys. He would get anxious, Finnick would get needy and Gale would get sullen.

Haymitch had chalked it up to hormones as they were growing up.

However, none of them seemed to have kicked their bad habits.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft cough and he turned to see Johanna sitting on the far end of the porch. A pen rested in her hand and two blueprint maps were laid out in front of her. His foster sister had spent a majority of the day sitting outside and making notes.

However, her eyes were always trained on Katniss.

Johanna gave him an encouraging smile before going back to her work. 

Walking slowly to Katniss, Peeta sat down next to her. “Hey.”

She gave him a tired smile. “Hey.”

He held the blanket that he brought with him. “It’s going to get cold out here soon.” Carefully, he draped the blanket over her shoulders. “Annie and Finnick should have dinner ready soon.”

“Where are the girls?” she asked.

“With Haymitch—they went to check out where the mine was,” he said. “They wanted to put flowers at the site and say goodbye.”

“They’ll be okay, right?” Katniss asked him. “They’re not going to be like me, are they? Screaming themselves awake.” Tears filled her grey eyes and he took her hand. “I don’t want this for them.” He quickly draped an arm around her. “Because when I’m like this—I feel like the world is ending and I’m drowning in that river all over again.”

“They’re going to be okay,” he assured her. “Just because we had bad starts doesn’t mean that we can’t have good endings.”

“Do you believe that?” Katniss asked him. “Really believe it?”

He nodded resolutely. “I believe in us—and in our family,” Peeta told her. “I know that none of us are completely good, but we’re far from bad. No matter what happened to us—we were lucky enough to end up with Haymitch and Effie.”

Katniss wiped her eyes as she nodded. “I’m just so tired, Peeta.”

He pulled her close and kissed her wet lips, tasting the salt of her tears. “I know, baby. We’re ending it soon. And then I’m going to marry you and we’re going to have the boatload of children that we wanted.”

Katniss threw the blanket over his shoulders, moving closer so they were both wrapped in the snug fleece.

“I love you, Peeta,” she said suddenly. “Whatever happens—I love you.”

Her words chilled him. “What’s wrong?”

“That dream, Peeta,” she told him. “It was of that night—the night at the river with my Mother.” He could feel her trembling against him. “Something that she kept saying keeps on playing in my head.”

He looked into her weary eyes. “What?”

“ _The secret will die with us …_ ” Katniss looked over at him. “Before my Dad died, I remember hearing them talking about getting rid of something. My mother was arguing that we needed to get out of our house and that now we had the means to do so. My dad didn’t want to leave because he didn’t want to leave our home.”

“They were talking about the gold,” he said in realization.

Katniss nodded. “When I was being dragged into the river, I thought she was holding me down—that she was holding my rope down. But it wasn’t her—she was too busy drowning herself—” She looked to him. “I know where the gold is—the one that Sae was talking about.”

“Where?” They turned to see Johanna behind them. Annie and Finnick were both at the doorway.

“Should we wait until the rest of them are here?” Katniss asked. “I only want to say this once.”

“We’re here.” They looked to see Haymitch and Gale, along with Prim and Rue, trailing behind them. The girls quickly went to Katniss and Peeta, both sitting on the step below their parents.

“I remember their arguing and the clanking of metal—a metal box,” Katniss told them. “That night, my mother was knotting the rope to the handle of a metal box. She threw that box into the river and I saw it disappear into that dark water.” She put her hands to her mouth, swallowing her sobs. “The other end of the rope went around my ankles.”

Katniss looked at them, her eyes shining in the remnants of the day.

“The secret was supposed to die with us—with me.” She let out a sob. “All that time—Snow kept on telling me that I was paying for something! That my parents kept something from him—that I was keeping something from _him_!” Katniss cried out, her eyes going manic. “I WAS WHORING MYSELF FOR HIM! He kept special tabs on me…told the Capitol men that there was something special about me…because the more they wanted me, the more I was worth…”

Katniss looked around brokenly. “When all along, I was worth more dead than alive.”

Peeta felt something build in him. “DON’T!” He grabbed her shoulders, ready to shake the look from her eyes. “DON’T YOU DARE SAY THAT!” His eyes went to Rue and Prim. “Look at them, look at me—and then tell us that you’re worth more dead.”

“Stop, Peeta,” Haymitch warned. “This is a lot for her—”

“No, because I know she doesn’t really believe that about herself,” he told their foster father. “She is scared because she knows how important she is and it scares her!”

The air laid thick around them.

“Everyone get in the house,” Haymitch suddenly called out. He looked to Peeta and Katniss. “You both stay out here and talk this out now—because if you can’t deal, then we’ll do this without you. You can take the girls and get out of here.”

The group shuffled into the house. Briefly, Peeta met Prim’s eyes and she looked at him encouragingly.

“Bring her back to us,” Prim whispered and then looked to Katniss. “You’re important to us, Mama.”

Rue squeezed his hand before kissing Katniss’ cheek. “We can’t lose you, too.”

The two girls disappeared into the house and Haymitch closed the door.

Darkness engulfed them and Peeta stood up. He held out his hand to her. “Let’s go.”

She stared up at him before taking his hand and standing up. “Where are we going?”

“We need to make a decision,” he told her.

Together, they walked into the forest. Peeta held his hand in front of his face to keep the long branches from hitting him and Katniss. Her hand was shaking in his and he turned to her briefly.

“I didn’t mean to yell at you,” he told her quietly.

“I know,” she replied. “Sometimes I forget that I’m not alone in the Capitol anymore. I’m not that girl staring out the high-rise window waiting for another client—waiting to see how I can make their dreams come true while leaving my desires hidden away inside.”

They stopped and Peeta turned to her once more.

“Just understand that for a long time, I was only worth what Snow charged for my services,” she said. “In time, I thought that the more I became worth something in Capitol money, the more I became worthy of myself.”

Peeta wrapped his arms around Katniss as she rested back against the trunk of a tree. His eyes adjusted to the soft moonlight and he could see her watching him intently.

“We have a decision to make together,” Peeta said to her. “We can take off again. Take Prim and Rue with us and start over. They will all understand—we have more to lose if something happens to one of us.”

“I can’t,” Katniss told him. “I have to confront Snow, Peeta. It has nothing to do with you or the family. It has to do with me. I want him to look at me—to see that I am more than just his Mockingjay. I am Katniss Everdeen and I should not be messed with.”

“It really is okay to run. You’ll still be Katniss Everdeen in the end,” he assured her quietly. “You always have been to me.”

She smiled sadly. “I know.” Katniss put a hand to her chest.  “But in here, I need to know that. I need to know it before I become Katniss Mellark.” She drew him in for a kiss. “And I _will_ be Katniss Mellark.”

Their lips met once more in the darkness, hungry and wanting. Her hands wandered down to the button of his pants and Peeta ripped his mouth from hers to meet her eyes.

“What are you doing?” he asked as she reached into his now unzipped trousers to wrap her hand around his hard length. Peeta’s knees buckled, feeling the sensation travel up his spine. “Oh, God…”

“The name is Katniss,” she teased. “I’m just saying sorry—and we’re both stressed out.” Katniss met his eyes playfully. “I like to make you feel good. I made a lot of men feel good, Peeta. But with you—it’s real and it’s not just about pleasing the other person, but pleasing myself as well.”

“When was the last time that I took care of you?” he asked in the darkness. Slowly, he dropped to his knees, the leaves crunching underneath him. His hands moved up her clothed thighs and Peeta felt her shiver. Finding the elastic of her thick stockings, he yanked them down hurriedly.

Peeta looked up and she gave him a smile through her half-closed eyes. “It’s been awhile, honestly.”

Carefully, Peeta helped her remove her stockings and tossed them behind him. His mouth found the inside of her thighs as he hitched them up on each shoulder and she pressed her back against the tree. He kissed along one leg before finding the soft skin of the other and heard her cry out softly as he nipped and teased, avoiding her covered mound, much to her annoyance.

“Please…” she called out into the air. “Make it go away…”

“Tell me,” Peeta asked her softly as his lips kissed her center and she moaned when he sucked on her clit through the thin cloth of her panties. “What do you want me to take away?”

“This feeling of being on fire,” she replied, her hips moving in sync with the movements of his mouth. “I don’t want our first time to be here—but if you don’t stop this feeling—it will be.”

“No,” he told her as he slowly pulled her panties off of her bottom. She helped him along—rushing to feel him against her. Without touching the ground, Katniss maneuvered her panties off one leg and then the other, letting them fall to the ground. “Our first time will be as husband and wife—I promise you that.”

Her hands found their way to his hair, grabbing onto his locks as he sucked on her clit. He was a man starved, tasting every part of her without a thought as to what would come tomorrow. All that mattered was her and feeding the part of him that could only be satisfied with her essence.

Katniss rode his face wantonly and unabandoned, her eyes closed and mouth open to let out short gasps of breath. He could feel her need for release and so he pressed on—his tongue entering her soaked cavern.

He would not make love to her tonight, but he would fuck her with his tongue—because she needed it.

And Peeta promised himself that he would give her everything she needed.

++++++

The next day, they were all back to work.

Katniss plaited Rue’s hair carefully as she listened to Johanna talk about her meeting with Paylor. Her artistic skills were amazing as her foster sister had imprinted one blueprint over another, showing how Agatha Jones’ home was directly underneath the aquifer that Snow was coveting.

Her eyes wandered over to Peeta, who sat across from her. Prim sat next to him, her blue eyes blank at Johanna’s words. She had talked very little since their visit to the mine—the loss of Rory hitting her a little harder today than yesterday.

Peeta looked over at her, his lips forming a small smile and she felt the warmth crawl up her cheeks.

They had returned from the forest, hand in hand, and unwavering in their purpose to destroy Snow. Everyone had already finished dinner, though Annie had saved them what was left of the lamb stew along with some cool bread.

She and Peeta had eaten ravenously, prompting Johanna to ask what they had done to make them so hungry.

“Walked,” Peeta responded simply before going back to his dinner.

No one believed him, of course. Johanna smirked, Haymitch went back to reading his paper, and Gale rolled his eyes while Annie and Finnick continued to clean up the kitchen table around them. Thankfully, Prim and Rue had already fallen asleep. Katniss would’ve died of humiliation if they knew what happened.

As far as orgasms went, Peeta had delivered tenfold.

She had known since that first night that he was the only one who could make her come undone.

Because it had always been more than physical.

“How do you suppose that we’ll get into Snow’s party?” Haymitch asked from where he sat in the lone chair of the cabin. “Getting into the Capitol will be a lot of work itself.”

Johanna pulled out a silver envelope and placed it on the small table next to Haymitch. “An invite to the party—black-tie, of course.”

“I’ll get my old tux out,” Haymitch muttered.

“As for getting into the Capitol, I know some people—and I have a feeling that Paylor is willing to help,” Johanna informed them. “Our one issue, however, is figuring out who is on our side—and who we can get to defend us when the time comes.”

“How do you suppose we’ll get support?” Gale asked. “And what do you mean, ‘when the time comes?’”

“Poison.” The words came from Annie—who stood against the wall with Finnick’s arm protectively around her shoulder. “Untraceable in a coroner’s exam—and mimicking a heart attack. Death will come in one minute—but it will be the most painful minute of your life.” She looked around at them. “I will make it once and only once—the vial it comes from is destroyed immediately. No one can be in the room when I make it.” She looked at Finnick. “That way if we were investigated, none of you can be tortured for the ingredient list.”

Johanna nodded once and everyone followed in agreement.

“As for getting support…” Johanna looked around the room before meeting Katniss’ eyes. “I suggest we look to our Capitol jewels—“

“NO!” Peeta stood up, his eyes hard. “I won’t allow it.”

“That’s not up to you,” Finnick suddenly said. “I can get people on our side. Some of those Capitol women—they had things to say about their husbands. They knew their weaknesses and how to break them down.” He looked over at Katniss. “I’m willing to bet that the Mockingjay, _not_ Katniss—would get their support.”

“Finnick’s right,” she found herself saying. “I’ve been with their husbands—and I’ve listened carefully at their dinner parties or during their card games. A glass of wine will loosen any of their lips—”

“Especially when the Mockingjay is serving them,” Peeta spat. He glared at her before going to the door and walking out, slamming it behind him. The strength of his hard slam caused the walls to vibrate throughout the small cabin.

Katniss winced before standing up. “I will do what I have to do to get this done—but you let me give Snow that final drink. I’ve earned it.”

++++++

She found Peeta sitting on the porch steps, his hand twitching in front of him, his fingers restless and grasping.

“I didn’t know you smoked that much,” Katniss said as she sat next to him. He refused to look at her. “You used to be a one pack-a-day man, for sure.” She took his twitching hand and was relieved when he didn’t pull away. “When did you stop?”

Peeta turned to her. “The moment that Haymitch told me to get you,” he informed her tersely. “I didn’t know what kind of man you liked. I figured you would be into a non-smoker.”

“Then you chose well,” she told him. “I would’ve taken you any which way. I waited so long for you to find me.”

His eyes met hers. “Do you really have to do this?”

“Are you upset because you’re jealous?” she asked. “There isn’t any reason to be.”

“Part of me is jealous,” he responded truthfully. “I know how possessive it seems. But, at the same time, I’m also scared for you.”

Katniss entwined their fingers. “Don’t you think I can handle it?”

“Of course you can, you are the strongest woman I know.” Peeta met her eyes. “But if I lose you—” He turned away. “I don’t think I could take it, Katniss. I’m not as strong as you.”

“Peeta, look at me.” Reluctantly, he turned to her. “I will be okay. I am strong—and there are things that I know about these men that they only shared with me. I can use this to our advantage and lead them to our side—as the Mockingjay. It’s time for her to make her final Capitol performance.”

She leaned over to brush their lips together. “But I hope you’ll be there when she comes back as your Katniss Everdeen, soon-to-be Mellark. So, will you? Will you be there in the end?”

He looked into her eyes, nodding firmly. “Yes.”

Katniss smiled, her head falling against his shoulder. “Well, okay then.” They went silent for a moment. “I’m glad you stopped smoking—it’s a bad habit.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Thanks for taking me away from the bad parts of my life.”

She sighed beside him. “Thanks for taking me from mine.”

++++++

“It’s probably best that you leave now,” Gale informed him. “Before the Peacekeeper trucks arrive.”

“I’m still not sure,” Haymitch responded as they walked to his Jeep. “Is it safe to be doing this, Gale? You’re the leader of the uprising—they’ll go after you first.”

“That’s why I have to stay,” his foster son responded, his dark eyes serious. “I started it and I have to see it through. The townspeople—they need me. No one has ever really needed me.”

“We need you,” Haymitch told him. Johanna joined them, her satchel in her hand. Gale’s eyes briefly went to her. “Johanna, convince him of his importance.”

A smirk played on Johanna’s lips. “I think Gale is well aware of his importance.”

He chuckled before heading over to where Katniss and Peeta were loading their own car. The girls were going to Portia and Octavia’s until it was deemed safe for them to join the rest of the group. When he approached, the couple stopped and went to him.

“You got everything?” he asked softly. “Money? Enough gas? Instructions for Portia and Octavia?”

Katniss nodded. “Everything is set. If it gets too dicey, the girls go to District 4 with Mags—we will give Portia and Octavia enough to send them away. The girls have money, too. Annie and I sewed pockets full of cash into their coats. There’s also a stash in the lining of both their luggage.”

“You’ve thought of everything,” Haymitch said in admiration.

“Of course,” Peeta said as he put an arm around her. “We’ll see you in the Capitol.”

“HAYMITCH!” He turned to see Prim and Rue running down the cabin steps and towards him. He knelt down and the two girls were in his arms. His girls—they had been through so much and yet there was still that youthful innocence in their eyes. He hoped that it would remain there for as long as possible.

Pulling away, Haymitch looked at both of them, feeling his eyes grow heavy.

“Remember to take care of yourselves,” he began, his voice shaky as he gazed at the wide-eyed girls in front of him. “Effie would want to you to be respectful to Portia and Octavia. Also, watch over one another.” He took a deep breath. “And always remember that I love you both.” He pulled them into his arms once more. “So, so, so much.”

“We love you, too,” Prim whispered.

“We promise to take care of each other,” Rue added, her chocolate eyes sad. “Just take care of yourself, too.”

Hesitantly, they all parted and Haymitch stood up. “You’d better get going before the sun comes up.” He looked to Peeta. “You know the address?”

Peeta nodded. “All memorized—and Katniss knows it, too.”

Katniss ushered the girls into the 4Runner, and soon Haymitch was watching them drive away.

“Effie, don’t let it be the last time that I see our little girls,” he prayed.

“Are you ready?” He turned to see Finnick, a tired smile on his handsome face. “I’ll drive—you look like shit.”

He laughed in response. “Well, we all aren’t blessed with your looks, Golden Boy!”

++++++

**_The Capitol_ **

“Is this everyone?” Paylor asked as they sat in the basement of the old commercial building.

Johanna had bought the property under a false name, along with putting the person into the Panem database so that nothing would look out of sorts.

“Almost,” Johanna responded and looked over at Haymitch. “Did they give you a time estimate?”

“They should’ve been here by now,” he responded. Calls were being made to Peeta’s cell every few minutes—by each of them. “Maybe we should just proceed. We can update them when they get here along with Gale—if he can make it.”

Johanna looked to Paylor. “Gale is another one of my foster brothers. He’s in District 12—”

“I heard that there was a scuffle in the District over the mine collapse,” Paylor replied. She looked over at Haymitch. “I’m sorry to hear about Rory.”

He nodded. “Thank you.”

“It seems that the revolt was successful, however,” Paylor continued. “Over half the Peacekeepers have been hurt and there was quick retreat from the District.” She looked around at them. “However, if you don’t get this done and Snow is still in power by next week—I guarantee that District 12 will be obliterated.”

They could hear the sound of footsteps above and in a matter of seconds, Katniss and Peeta were walking down the stairs. Both looked shaken and Haymitch immediately jumped from his seat.

“Don’t worry,” Peeta started as he helped Katniss out of her coat. “We’re okay. Portia and Octavia were worried that they were being watched. Some men were out there looking at the wreck that was my garage. They did a good job of acting distraught over my supposed death.”

“We’ve sent them all to District 4,” Katniss continued breathlessly. “It’s for the best.”

Haymitch nodded before leading them back to where the rest of them sat. “Peeta, Katniss—this is Senator Paylor.”

He saw Katniss start at the sight of the woman standing before them.

“The Mockingjay—why did I not put that together?” Paylor said uncomfortably. “Good to know that we are seeing one another again under less uncomfortable circumstances.”

“My name is Katniss,” his foster daughter said softly, her eyes on the woman. “I am not the Mockingjay.”

Peeta stepped forward and held out his hand. “Peeta Mellark. It’s nice to meet you.”

They shook hands quickly and Peeta helped Katniss to her seat.

“How do you know one another?” Johanna suddenly asked looking between the two women.

“I met Katniss once—during my Congratulatory Party at the Senate,” Paylor said stiffly. “As I am the only woman of the group, they didn’t feel the need to change their entertainment. Also, Snow wanted to give me a present—some time with the Mockingjay.” The woman looked over at Katniss. “As long as the rest of the party got to watch.”

Finnick turned to Katniss, his eyes amused. “I didn’t know that you had it in you—”

Katniss whipped her head over to him. “Like you never had to entertain a group yourself,” she shot back, her eyes suddenly burning with anger. “Wasn’t your specialty with couples?”

Annie banged her hand on the table. “STOP!” She looked at Finnick. “Why dredge up the past?” Her eyes met Katniss’. “We are doing this for our futures. Both of you need to keep that in mind.”

“Sorry, Katniss,” Finnick said, his arms crossed.

“Sorry, Finnick,” Katniss muttered petulantly.

“Now that the children are subdued,” Haymitch said. “Why don’t we proceed?”

“Snow’s annual ball is coming up,” Paylor informed them. “However, during this week, most of the other leaders throw their own parties—preliminaries, you might say, in preparation for the real festivities. I am invited to all of them, of course.” She looked over at Katniss and Finnick. “I thought maybe I could bring one of you to each party—depending on the party preference.”

“Katniss and Finnick have been gone for a while,” Peeta told her, his hand firmly holding Katniss’. “Hasn’t that raised any suspicion?”

“Snow wants to keep everything quiet, especially with Cato’s death,” she responded. “Cato was Katniss’ business partner at the club—and it was common knowledge that she was often his own entertainment.” Peeta grimaced at the statement. “Snow has made the excuse that she is away on sabbatical, mourning her partner.” Paylor looked over at Finnick. “What did you tell your clients?”

“That I was taking a trip with a lover,” he told her, his eyes going to Annie. “No one questions me, they just envy me.”

“Anyway, my first party is at Beetee Latier’s apartment—tomorrow,” Paylor said. “Any takers?”

“Beetee is of a sensitive nature,” Finnick said and then turned to look at Katniss. “I’ll take him.” He looked over at Annie worriedly. “He only likes to talk—or watch. Sometimes, he just wants to show me a new gadget that he’s invented. You’re okay, right?”

“Of course not,” she told him, her eyes hard. Annie took a deep breath before continuing. “But this is for the greater good. At the end of the night, you’re coming back to me.” She shook her head. “God help me—after all of this is over, no more and no one else, Finnick.”

“There was never anyone else in here,” Finnick paused, putting his hand to his chest. “But you.” He took Annie’s hand, pleading with his eyes. “You believe me, right?”

“I do,” Annie said in a hushed voice. “I’ve always believed in you, too.” She sighed and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Finally, Finnick looked to Paylor. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

++++++

“Paylor really seems to be flustered by your presence,” Peeta asked her the next night, as they got ready for bed. “What’s that about?”

They had very little time to talk the night before. Katniss had fallen asleep quickly, thoughts of Prim and Rue in her head. She hoped that they were doing alright. Prim seemed to be catching a cold and she had asked Portia to buy her medicine if needed.

Finnick had left for the evening to attend Beetee’s party—dressed in a tuxedo and looking very much like his Capitol self. He literally sparkled as he left with Paylor, who had given Katniss a nod before taking off with her foster brother.

The commercial building that they were occupying had many unused offices, so each of them had a pick of their own room.

Katniss looked over at him as she unfolded the cot that Johanna had given each of them, along with pillows and blankets. “Sometimes I forget that boys have a strange fascination with girl on girl action.”

“It’s not that,” he responded as he unfolded his own cot next to hers. Peeta handed her a thick blanket and pillow. “I know very little other than what you’ve told me. I just worry that I’ll get caught off-guard. I mean, I was last night at the meeting.”

Sitting on her cot, Katniss wrapped her arms around her legs. It was true. There were a lot of things that she had forgotten or pushed out of her mind for good reason. She was embarrassed.

“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I think I’m always hoping that you’ll see me as the same girl that you grew up with. I guess I’m scared that you won’t love me the same way if you knew what I had to do.”

“Katniss, we’ve been through this,” Peeta told her. “I was taken by surprise, but that doesn’t change anything.” His face heated up. “Maybe it’s just me being a pure-blooded guy and I’m just curious about your female encounter.”

She looked to him. “What if it wasn’t my only female encounter?”

His face had turned a level of red that she didn’t think he could reach.

“Paylor is embarrassed by the encounter because she liked it,” Katniss told him simply. She could briefly remember the small sigh that had escaped the woman’s lips as she had danced against her. Snow was aware of Paylor’s sexual preferences and had used Katniss to confirm it—so that he could use it against her later. “When there’s really nothing to be ashamed of.”

She laid her head on Peeta’s shoulder and looked up at him.

“Everyone has fantasies,” she said against the crook of his neck. “That was my job—exposing them for Snow’s benefit, or even Cato’s when needed.”

“Katniss, have you ever—” He stopped and then shook his head.

“Ask me,” she urged him. There was nothing to hide anymore. In time, Snow would break them by any means necessary, including exposing everything that she had ever done just to watch Peeta suffer. It was his way of letting her know that she would never escape him.

That everything that she loved—he would destroy.

“Have you ever—” She watched him struggle to push the words out. “With Snow?”

Katniss nodded once, her eyes closing as she spoke. “How do you think he punished me for lying about the virginity auction? Besides killing Cinna.” She could almost feel him, the smell of blood on his breath and the roughness of being held down by the Peacekeepers. “He told me to stop fighting and take what I deserved. Liars deserve to be punished.” She opened her eyes to see Peeta watching her sadly. “Are you happy now that you know?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t ask to hurt you.”

“Then why did you ask?” Katniss looked at him angrily. “Being the Mockingjay afforded me a lot of things. I got to meet dignitaries, learn different languages, and watch beautiful performances—but all of it came at a price.”

She bit her lip in frustration. “Because those dignitaries wanted me during the parties and after, the languages I learned were just so I could describe how I could fuck the person in their own language, and those performances I watched were as I fondled the man beside me in his theater box.”

“You should be able to tell me these things,” he replied as he crawled over to her cot. “Because in the end, I will love you—all of you. The part that was the Mockingjay and the part that is Katniss Everdeen. I’m sorry if I hurt you by asking.”

Katniss found herself straddling his lap. “I will love you, too. All of you.”

Peeta wrapped his arms around her waist as she leaned down to kiss him.

The door suddenly burst open and Johanna rushed in—along with Finnick, still in his tuxedo. Annie and Haymitch followed the two.

“I thought you were saving it for the wedding night,” Johanna asked when she saw them sharing a cot. She sat down on Peeta’s empty one. “May I join in?”

“What do you want?” Peeta asked from beneath Katniss.

“Paylor and Finnick are giving a report down in the basement—five minutes,” Johanna informed them.

“Then why are all of you up here?” Katniss asked.

“Because we all wanted to see if you broke your chastity clause,” Finnick told them with a smile. “I guess I win tonight.”

Katniss gave him the finger.

++++++

“Beetee is in,” Paylor reported. “He’s apparently had it out for Snow since he turned down his request to experiment with water filtration systems.”

“Makes sense,” Johanna added. “Anything to keep others down. If Beetee were to discover a new filtration system, then having ownership of the aquifer would be obsolete for Snow.” She looked to Paylor. “On the positive end, I know that Beetee is clever enough to find a way to keep your grandmother’s house intact while using the aquifer.”

Katniss looked at Finnick. “Are you alright?”

“Beetee was…nice,” he told her slowly. “He said that he missed me.”

She nodded in understanding. A lot of the men were lonely—sometimes they needed someone to just hold them or lay alongside them in bed.

Judging by Finnick’s rumpled appearance, she could see that the latter must have occurred.

Finnick looked over at Annie. “I told him about her—and he’s happy for me. Also, Beetee wanted me to give you his regards—he said that he developed a new bow and it made him think of you.”

The first time that Katniss had gone to Beetee’s apartment, she was fascinated by his indoor shooting range and he had been intrigued by her shooting skills. There was never anything remotely sexual about their relationship, though she suspected that her tomboyish nature was appealing to him.

Once, he had asked her to shoot—completely naked—and she never felt like he was leering, more like analyzing.

“He will be in charge of security and media during Snow’s party, including cameras, and will be able to make you invisible, if needed,” Paylor told them. “Plutarch Heavensbee’s party is two days from now.” The woman looked over at Katniss. “He’s looking forward to welcoming you back from your sabbatical—I asked him to keep your appearance quiet. You didn’t want to take away from his thunder.”

She tightened her hold on Peeta’s hand under the table—they both had history with Heavensbee. The man had been the cause of her fiancé’s constant guilt. He had paid Peeta off to steal and had cost a woman her life.

There was nothing to do but let him have his way—all for the cause. Peeta squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“In two days, the Mockingjay will be making her grand return.” Katniss stood up from the table. “I’m going to bed.” She turned to Paylor. “I’ll be ready by seven. Good night.”

Rushing up the stairs, Katniss managed to keep herself intact until she reached her and Peeta’s room.

When her head hit the pillow, Katniss let herself cry.

She continued to cry, even when Peeta came into their room and laid down beside her, wrapping his strong arms around her waist.

The tears persisted when Haymitch sat beside her, his grey eyes gazing sadly down at her as his rough hand caressed her head. And even when Johanna appeared to take her hand, hugging it in-between her own.

“It will be quick,” Finnick assured her when he came. “Has Heavensbee ever been mean to you?”

“No, but I’m over dancing for him,” she replied against her pillow. “Sometimes he lets me read to him, though.”

“The ball is in your court,” Finnick responded as Annie came in with a mug in her hands. “Be interested in current affairs, ask him how the Capitol has been since you’ve left. You can pick out any insecurities in Snow that way.”

Katniss nodded, sniffling into her pillow. “I just don’t want to be their pawn anymore.”

Finnick leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “I know, sis.”

“Drink,” Annie said softly. “Sleep and dream of your future—our future.”

Katniss sat up briefly to take a small sip, feeling her eyelids already beginning to get heavy as she laid back onto her pillow.

“All of you—stay with me,” she said before closing her eyes.

As her eyelids drooped, she heard Peeta’s familiar words in her ear, comforting and constant.

“Always.”

++++++

“You look nice,” Paylor said as they stood in the elevator.

“It’s the dress,” Katniss replied stiffly, her eyes staring at the gold elevator.

All of her dresses were still in her old apartment at the top of her club, so Johanna had conveniently found her a dress to wear from her own wardrobe. It was the color of coal with a full skirt and a sweetheart top that held her cleavage enticingly.

Her hair was pulled back from her face, as the rest of it was curled and left to flow down her back. She remembered that Heavensbee enjoyed her hair down as he often buried his nose in it. The thought made her cringe inside. It was a credit to how much she had changed. She would never think twice on the thought of him touching her—it was her job to pleasure and entertain.

“Are you alright?” Paylor asked, her eyes still trained in front of her. She was in her own burgundy dress, a gold clutch in her hands.

Katniss looked over at her. “I’m whoring myself out again. How do you think I feel? How will my daughters understand the life that I lived?”

“They will understand that their mother did everything she could to be with them,” the other woman replied. “But if it’s worth anything, I’m sorry that you’re going through this.”

She smiled softly at Paylor, touched by her words. “Thank you.” Looking back to the door, Katniss took a nervous breath. “I’m sorry that Snow humiliated you.”

“You were humiliated more than I was,” Paylor informed her. “The men enjoyed it thoroughly—while I was outed. Snow never let me forget that I showed weakness in front of all of them and that it made me disposable.”

“That was always Snow’s way,” Katniss replied. “Peeta asked me about our experience—the universal intrigue of same-sex interaction. I will never understand it.” The two laughed at her words.

The elevator door opened and the two women walked onto the marbled floor of Plutarch Heavensbee’s penthouse apartment.

Katniss felt him right away, his lips grazing her ear. “Darling girl.” She turned to see the smiling face of the party’s host.

She straightened herself and pressed a kissed to his cheek. “Did you miss me?”

“Of course,” Plutarch responded as she took his arm. “I heard that you were off mourning Snow’s nephew.” She saw the twisted sneer on his lips. “I, for one, don’t miss the boy at all. But don’t let Snow know that.”

“You seem to have held a grudge against my partner,” she remarked. They were traveling down the familiar hallway towards his bedroom and she felt her stomach turn. “Did he fuck your wife or something?”

“My niece, actually,” he told her. “Poor Fulvia was never the same after that.”

She placed her hand over his and gave him a pout, her lips drawn to look full and ripe. Heavensbee had a thing for youth—the smell of baby powder, free-flowing hair, and wide expressive eyes and she delivered in spades. Underneath her dress was a soft pink corset and frilly panties, his favorites. She was a woman to the public, but his girl in private.

“I’m sorry,” she replied gently as he led her into his room, closing the door behind him. “Is there anything I can do?”

“You can tell me how to help you,” he told her softly. Katniss whipped around at his words. “There’s been talk, my sweet. They say that you did it.”

“And if I did?” Katniss approached him, her eyes trained on the man before her. “What would you say?”

“I would say—finally,” he replied, his eyes following the sway of her hips. “Get rid of the rest of them—the Snow family is poison on Panem.”

“What do you mean?” Katniss watched him approach her and she steeled her resolve.

“Turn around,” he commanded and Katniss slowly followed his directions. His hands moved her hair aside and she could feel his breath against her neck. The sound of her zipper being pulled down caused her breath to hitch anxiously. “Whatever you’re doing, I want in.”

“And what’s in it for you?” Her dress fell to the ground and she stepped out of it, sparkling heels and soft pink negligee her only clothing now. Her mind wandered to Peeta and his promise to stick by her—even if she had to do unspeakable things to be in favor.

“Power, of course,” Plutarch responded. He gestured at the small chess table to the side of his room. “Come and play—then we’ll talk.”

His eyes followed her as she sat in the chair on one side of the board. “I have missed you—and I will miss you when you go,” Heavensbee began. “You remind me a lot of my niece. We weren’t related by blood, but I cared for her like family.”

He stopped for a moment, his eyes lost in hazy memories. “Sometimes, she would let me sleep in her bed and her warmth brought me comfort. The closest thing I’ve had to that is you. Cato ruined her—and Snow let it happen.”

Katniss swallowed the bile rising in her throat. The story unfolding in front of her was more messed up than she realized.

“Did I ever tell you about the rumored meeting room in Snow’s mansion?” Heavensbee suddenly said. “It’s soundproof and impenetrable.  Anything could happen in there—and no one would know.”

“Too bad that no one has the blueprints to confirm its existence,” Katniss replied as she began to set up her pieces.

“The person who created the room would,” he told her before holding up a rolled up parchment. “The same person would probably have the blueprints to the mansion, too. They come in handy when sneaking people in.” He winked at her, his eyes briefly traveling over her outfit.

She leaned over to help set up his pieces, her lush cleavage peeking out from the frills of her bodice.

“Now what?” she asked him.

“Now,” Heavensbee said. “We play.”

++++++

“This is destroying her,” Peeta argued.

Their support list had grown over the week. Finnick and Katniss quietly collected people to help their cause, along with Paylor—the new leader to the silent Rebellion.

That first night after her visit with Heavensbee, Katniss came back with blueprints and a blank face. She disappeared into the bathroom, where Peeta found her sitting in the tub, water running over her and her skin scrubbed raw.

He picked her up from out of the tub and carried her into their room, where he had dried her gently. His touch had brought her back and she had burst into tears against him. After, she had told him of her strange chess game with Plutarch Heavensbee—in her negligee.

“He never touched me,” Katniss told him. “But it didn’t make me feel any less dirty.”

“I’m so sorry,” he replied as he toweled the droplets off her back. “Tell me what I can do.”

“Just hold me,” she asked. “And lock the door—I can’t deal with any more questions.”

So Peeta held her and when that wasn’t enough, he brought his lips to hers.

And when that wasn’t enough, he made her come—first with his fingers and then with his mouth, until she could do nothing but sleep.

“Tomorrow, this is over,” Johanna argued.

The group sat around the table except for Katniss, who had spent a lot of time sleeping until she had to entertain. They were all worried—she ate very little, especially since her last visit. Peeta had insisted that she share everything that happened during her visits with him. He had even taken to writing it all down in a journal.

When the time came, she could read the notebook—or burn it.

The last visit was to Caesar Flickerman, a Panem television host and part of Snow’s PR team, who loved the camera. So much so that he often used it in his private activities.

Katniss had thrown up when she returned from that visit—for there had been photos.

Caesar had given her copies and Peeta burned them immediately, both of them unable to see her in such a vulnerable position.

“He still has the others,” she whispered as they watched them burn in the fireplace of the main floor.

“Those aren’t you,” he replied, his arm around her. “Not the real you—remember that.”

“Sometimes I’m not sure who the real me is anymore,” Katniss told him before they went to bed.

“I will go tonight,” Finnick volunteered and Paylor nodded. “Seneca Crane has no preference. He only wants power and pleasure.” Annie cringed at his words and he looked to her. “Honey—”

“No, you should go tonight,” she replied quietly. “There is something wrong with Katniss. Being here in Panem is killing her.”

“It’s a man’s world in Panem,” Johanna told them. “Here, Annie is nothing but a man-pleasing chef, Katniss is nothing but the President’s whore—and I’m nothing but lowest rung in the long-line of male executives because of what’s in-between my legs.” She looked around at everyone. “Trust me, being in Panem is killing more than just her.”

++++++

Haymitch wandered upstairs as the meeting went on. He didn’t feel right leaving Katniss lost to her own thoughts.

Katniss had always been the most complex of the children—sweet but taciturn, friendly yet standoffish and open-hearted to only a select few, including her foster family. She had fought with Effie the most, but she had also opened her heart to her foster mother the most.

That’s how his wife knew that what had transgressed between Katniss and Peeta was different. Together, Katniss wasn’t so closed off and Peeta was stronger—they complimented one another well.

Just like her and Haymitch.

Knocking on the door, he found Katniss sitting by the window sill—an open notebook on her lap.

“Sweetheart?” She turned to look at him as he approached. “You should be in bed. Tomorrow is a big, big, big day.”

Katniss smiled at his mimic of Effie’s trademarked words. “I always loved her excitement.”

His eyes went to the notebook. “What’s that?”

“After each visit, I talk and Peeta documents—it’s a way for both of us to get it out,” she said as she closed the book and handed it to him. “Peeta says that I can do whatever I want with it after all of this is over.”

Briefly, Haymitch opened the book and looked over an excerpt. He felt his stomach turn and closed the book quickly after.

“Tomorrow seems so far away,” she whispered as she looked out the window. Tears were in her eyes, the moon reflecting against them as they fell down her face. “Haymitch, are we going to be okay?”

“Yes, we will, and I will watch you walk down that aisle to become Peeta’s wife,” he promised. “Because there is nothing I want more than to see your dreams come true. It was Effie’s dream, too.”

“What did Effie promise when you got married?” Katniss suddenly asked.

“Six or seven children—and she delivered as promised.” He laughed softly. “I couldn’t be prouder of them—” Haymitch stopped, looking at the young woman in front of him. “And of you. Just be good to Peeta, even when he gets on your ass.”

Katniss smiled at him, her face relaxing as she did. “I will love him, trust him, nag him and look at him the same way Effie did when she looked at you.”

Haymitch swallowed thickly. “How did she look at me?”

“Like you were invincible.”

++++++

“How does it feel to know that about 75% of these men have seen your fiancée naked?” Johanna asked Peeta. The two walked arm in arm among the Capitol elite. Once in a while, an associate would greet Johanna, sniff at him, and then walk away. “Gives your mission a little more purpose, doesn’t it?”

“Trust me,” Peeta replied. “The fact that there’s a gun inside my tuxedo jacket hasn’t escaped my mind.”

Snow’s mansion was indeed beautiful—all white stone and marble. The courtyard was filled with men and women dressed to the nines in beautiful silks and velvet; some even wore masks, as the theme was a masquerade ball.

Among them was Annie in a deep peacock blue ball gown with a feathered eye mask, as well as Finnick in a dark burgundy suit, his bright smile capturing the attention of the Capitol women.

Gale made his appearance at the last moment, a gash on his right cheek from a fight with a Peacekeeper. He was walking around as Paylor’s escort, looking very Phantom-esque with his half mask hiding the wound.

“Haymitch is scouting the area with Beetee, checking on security and such,” Johanna told him quietly. “We will slip out after Snow’s speech.”

It had been very easy to move around the mansion, thanks to the proffered blueprints. All of them had memorized the layout and gone over it as they entered the mansion. The only person who had not made an appearance was Katniss, who was arriving with Heavensbee.

“What time is Katniss supposed to arrive?” he asked worriedly.

“Well, her escort had a very special dress made for her,” Johanna told him. “Oh God—after everything she’s told us—you don’t think that she going to come in looking like a twelve-year-old? With a frilly skirt and everything?”

Peeta shook his head at her. “Why did they put us together?”

“Because I’m the only who can distract you,” she said with a grin. Her eyes went to something behind him. “However, I think your wait is over.”

++++++

“I feel like a tool,” Katniss told Heavensbee as they walked down the stairway.

“You look radiant,” the man said. “I have to say—I have great taste. White really does stand out in this crowd.”

She had to admit, the dress was beautiful. It was a gleaming white, one-shouldered and gauzy. The top draped loosely along her chest as the rest clung to what curves she had before trumpeting out to a floor dragging skirt. Her hair was soft and curled, flowing freely down her back as Heavensbee liked it.

“Just look at how the crowd envies us—envies me,” he whispered, his mouth against her ear. “Where is your young man?” Now that she knew where his loyalty was, Katniss had disclosed some of her story to him, including the part with Peeta in it.

She looked across the room and spotted Peeta in his dark tuxedo, looking roguishly handsome. Her heart leapt from her chest seeing the way his eyes penetrated her even from across the room.

“He’s around,” she responded lightly. “He’ll come when he’s needed.”

The lights dimmed as they made their way down the stairs and the President’s theme started on the speakers.

Snow had arrived.

Turning, they looked up at the balcony to see Snow walking forward to the roaring applause of his guests. The man smiled benevolently and she felt her anger rise at seeing the triumph in his eyes.

“Thank you, thank you,” Snow began. “Welcome to this most auspicious occasion. It is wonderful to see loyal citizens of Panem come together to celebrate our glorious nation. While this is a joyous time for myself as your president—I have also felt the pain of loss. A short time ago, I lost my dear nephew to a senseless act of violence. While I mourn as an Uncle, it has also strengthened my resolve to make our districts safer, and that includes our beloved Capitol.”

Snow’s cold eyes swept across the crowd and he found her immediately. Katniss straightened herself—her own stare just as steely.

She wasn’t afraid anymore—especially of him.

“Panem is built on the idea of rebirth,” Snow continued. “And with that comes new hope for a stronger nation birthed on unity. I am not alone in this idea—the idea of starting anew. My nephew’s young business partner, who has been away mourning his death, has come to join us tonight, her own resolve stronger and eager to forge into this new era.” He looked to her coldly. “Our Mockingjay, please join me.”

All eyes turned to her and Katniss took a deep breath before pasting a smile on her face. Heavensbee tightened his hold as he walked her towards the balcony steps. She briefly brushed past Annie and Finnick. Her brother and sister nodded at her quickly—they would be there when the time came.

Katniss lifted her skirt as she walked carefully up the stairs, letting it fall back down as she walked towards him.

Soon, she found herself right in front of Snow.

“Hello, Sir.” Katniss pressed a brief kiss to his cheek. “It’s been too long.”

“I’m sure that you didn’t miss me,” he replied. “Spending time with your foster brother and all—what is his name?”

“His name is Peeta Mellark—and he is twice the man that Cato was,” she hissed quietly as they pulled apart.

“Don’t make me angry.” He grabbed her hand. “Now, be a good girl and smile for everyone.”

Her heart pounding, Katniss let him raise her arm with his in unity. The crowd was appreciative—whistles for her and applause for him.

“Glad to know that you’re still worth something,” Snow sneered at her as they waved to the crowd before turning towards the mansion entrance. “Let’s go talk in private.”

++++++

“Where are Haymitch and Beetee?” Gale asked as he and Paylor joined Peeta and Johanna.

“As far as I know, they are in the security room—Beetee is in charge of the production and security,” Finnick informed them. He pulled out his phone. “I just got a message from Haymitch—Snow and Katniss are heading down to the meeting room. There are two Peacekeepers with them.”

“They’re most likely there to guard the door,” Paylor informed them.

“Has anyone seen my escort?” They turned to see Heavensbee approaching them. “I’ve seemed to misplace her.”

“Cut the crap,” Johanna said to the man. “You saw Snow lead her away!”

He nodded at the woman. “Nice to see you, Johanna.” He looked to Peeta. “Aren’t you going to introduce me your date?”

“This is Peeta Mellark,” she said shortly as Heavensbee looked at her calmly. “Peeta—this is the pervert who makes your fiancée dress up in little girl nightgowns.”

Heavensbee didn’t bat an eyelash at her words. Instead, he approached Peeta and held out his hand.

Peeta eyed him briefly before shaking the man’s hand.

“Wise to be cautious,” Heavensbee said with a smile. “Did Katniss show you the blueprint?”

Peeta nodded. “Yes.”

“There’s a trick door to the left of the house—a shortcut to the downstairs meeting room that actually opens like an emergency exit. You’re armed, right?” Peeta nodded and patted his jacket pocket. The man nodded firmly at him. “Go now.”

++++++

“Who pulled the trigger?” Snow asked Katniss as they sat next to one another in the steel-walled room. It was silent as death—made to feel like a coffin.

“I did,” she replied, her eyes never leaving his. “And I enjoyed seeing him bleed out—” The hit came hard and she could feel the pain vibrate through her body. “An eye for an eye—” She touched her bleeding lip. “You killed my father for gold that never existed and tried to take the only home I’ve ever known away from my family.”

“The place is going burn to the ground just like your precious lover boy’s garage,” Snow sneered. “The gold does exist—your father just found the most—and he refused to share. So I spent a whole night watching him pan for it—at gunpoint. Then I sent him home with a little drink. We told him that it was a strengthener. The idiot just believed us.”

“You will pay,” she said quietly.

“I will not,” Snow replied unrepentantly. “Hurt me and _you_ will pay.”

Katniss shook her head. “I won’t need to,” she said as she reached into the trick pocket of her dress. “This is for you.” She slid the envelope towards him.

Snow took the envelope and pulled out the folded paper. Reading over it, he scoffed before placing it on the table.

“Foolish girl, I won’t sign this,” he said. “Do you really think I’m going to stop the destruction of your home, or Miss Jones’ for that matter? Those places are much more valuable to me without the useless sentimental hovels.”

“You _will_ sign it.” Katniss looked up to see Peeta approaching them. He winked at her. “Hey, sweetheart.”

Katniss grinned. “Hey, baby. How did you get in?”

“Heavensbee showed me this neat little emergency exit—it’s going to make it a lot easier to leave this place without being seen.” Rounding the table, he went to her side and met Snow’s eyes. “Sign it.”

“Your lover?” Snow asked Katniss. “He looks a lot like Cato.”

“My fiancé,” she replied. “And Cato never held a candle to him.”

The main door opened and Johanna walked in along with Annie. They closed the door behind them and grinned at the couple.

“Sorry we’re late,” Johanna said breathlessly. “It’s harder to fight two peacekeepers when your skirt is so heavy.” She met Snow’s eyes. “President Snow—a pleasure.”

“Oh yes, Miss Mason and Chef Cresta,” he said as he watched them sit down. “Anyone else joining us?” The door opened once more—Gale, Finnick, and Haymitch entered easily with Paylor, Beetee, and Heavensbee in tow. “Oh, good. More traitors.” Snow looked to Haymitch. “So sorry to hear about your wife and your boy—such a shame, really.”

“You’re not coming out of this place,” Haymitch told him. “Not until you sign my home back to me.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then we will leave you to the mercy of the people in the courtyard,” Paylor told him unrepentantly. “They’ll take care of you nicely once we play that special edition of Caesar Flickerman’s show on the back wall of your mansion.”

“I mean, if they get angry about the segment on Cato’s psychotic behavior towards some of the Capitol ladies—they’re going to be pissed about the fact that you paid off a lot of people to keep it quiet,” Finnick said to the man with a wry smile.

“Not to mention the unauthorized Peacekeeper raid on Distict 12,” Gale added. “I bet none of those people out there know about that—but I guess they’ll know now.”

“And if the people outside don’t kill you,” Annie said as she went to Katniss and handed her a small vial. “The people coming from District 12 to raid this mansion in the morning will.”

Katniss had always been good at reading people—and she saw it then—the fear in Snow’s eyes. He didn’t fear death, he feared exposure.

Once everyone saw Snow for the tyrant he really was, it was as good as being dead.

Haymitch went to the table and placed a pen next to Snow’s hand. He stared at the man for a moment before turning away.

“There is a special place in Hell for you,” Haymitch hissed at the man. “Say hello to your nephew for me.”

Unfolding the paper, Snow signed shakily before pushing the paper away. He looked to the group around him.

“THERE!” Snow’s face was scarlet with rage. “ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?”

Katniss stood up. “Not quite.”

Approaching him, she placed the vial that Annie had given her in front of him.

“What is it?” Snow asked with an angry tremble.

“A strengthener,” Katniss replied simply as her hand reached to caress his chin. “Now be a good boy and stop fighting. Take the medicine you so rightly deserve.”

++++++

The death of President Coriolanus Snow was announced the following morning.

According to the newly-appointed President Paylor, the heart attack had occurred in the middle of the night. Assistant to the former President Snow, Seneca Crane, had found the man in bed—and immediately sought medical attention.

The coroner’s report detailed that death was quick—the president suffered very little during his death.

They all knew better.

“It’s amazing how easy it is to falsify reports,” Johanna said as they all relaxed on the front porch of their old foster home. She looked over at Haymitch, who sat on the porch swing with Prim and Rue flanking his sides. “By the way, Paylor said that you’re always welcome to come visit.”

“I guess I’ll have to—seeing as I’ll have to make sure that you’re not causing all sorts of trouble,” the man retorted. “How does it feel to be Senator Mason now?”

“Just like being Johanna Mason—just two floors higher.” Johanna looked over at Gale and grinned. “I’m not the only one with the new job. Selectmen Hawthorne, when do you have to report to District 12?”

“In a day or two,” Gale said from his seat on the porch steps. “We’re holding elections for council people.”

The front door banged open as Finnick and Annie emerged from inside the house. Annie was carrying a plate of sandwiches, and Finnick was carrying a pitcher of lemonade along with some disposable cups.

“Eat up, everyone,” Annie called out cheerfully. “Because you’re not getting anything as good as this after we get back to District 4!”

“It’s weird to imagine that Golden Boy over here is going to be working on a fishing boat,” Gale said as he grabbed a sandwich.

“I CAN DO IT!” Finnick protested as he handed cups out. “Annie and Mags will teach me—and plus, it will be great for my tan.” He flexed through the fitted shirt he wore.

Haymitch stood as Prim and Rue jumped up to grab some sandwiches. Looking around, he spotted his last two children lying back against the trunk of the tree—Katniss’ head on Peeta’s shoulder as they talked quietly, their hands entwined.

His eyes watered watching the two and he looked up to clear blue sky. “We did it, Effie. They’re all going to be okay,”

Waving them over, he watched Peeta help Katniss up and they walked over to the group.

When the two reached the porch, they went to their foster father.

“I wanted to ask you something,” Peeta said to him, a grin on his face with his arm around Katniss’ shoulder.

“What do you need?” he asked his foster son.

“Permission to marry Katniss,” Peeta replied.

Haymitch looked over at Katniss and he lifted her chin.

He grinned at the beaming woman in front of him. “You want to marry him?”

“More than anything,” Katniss said, her grey eyes brighter than he had ever seen them.

After a moment, Haymitch nodded his consent. “When are you going to do this?”

The couple smiled at one another before Peeta responded.

“Tonight.”

+++++++

**_The Northern Coast in the former state of Oregon_ **

“Peeta?” He froze at sight of his bride standing before him, a small smile on her lips. “How do I look?”

“You’re breathtaking,” he responded as he took her hand. “Portia and Octavia really went all out.”

“After I showed them the picture, it didn’t take them very long to get it done,” Katniss said shyly. “Effie always said that it had been her favorite dress after her wedding gown.”

The dress was a sleeveless champagne-colored slip dress with lace on the bodice and an array of white, beige, cream and blush lace overlaying the lined skirt, which dragged elegantly against the sand. The two women had ruched up one side and gathered it against a silk flower that Prim and Rue had made for their mother.

She wore her hair down, holding it back with two of Effie’s ivory hair clips to show off her high cheekbones and smoky eyes.

The design had been taken from an old picture of Effie in her debutante dress. When Katniss had first seen the photo as a child, she had been enamored by it. She stared so much that Effie let her keep the picture—and it had been one of the things she had kept with her during her time in the Capitol.

“You’d better get down there,” Katniss told him with a soft smile.

Down the path and along the shore was their family—Haymitch would officiate with the special license that Paylor had granted him over the phone. The license had already been processed in the Panem registry, stating that they were officially married as of today.

“Are you kidding me?” Peeta replied with a grin. “After everything we’ve been through, I am never letting go of this hand.”

+++++++

It was amazing what money could get you.

The small set of wooden cabins they all occupied all had an amazing view of the ocean below them. Haymitch, along with Gale, had taken one, while Johanna, who was watching Rue and Prim, stayed in another. Finnick and Annie were nestled in the smallest cabin—not that they minded.

Peeta and Katniss were given the biggest of the wooden houses—and the most private.

After all, it was their wedding night.

And Katniss Mellark was now a very wealthy woman.

Divers had been able to grab the metal box that had held his wife down in the river’s freezing depths as a child. Upon opening it, Katniss held up the giant pearl-shaped gold nugget that had weighed the box down, along with the stack of bills nestled inside.

The money, however, mattered very little to her and Peeta. Most of it would go into trust funds for their daughters and to any other future children. There was also the sizable anonymous donation to keep the foster homes of Panem running, especially the new one that they had named after Rory in District 12.

They had also recovered her mother’s body—and Katniss had her buried next to her father so that the past could finally rest peacefully.

It was all over now.

Peeta kindled the small flames in the stone fireplace, letting the fire build. As the cabin began to warm, he removed his dress shirt to cool himself in the building heat.

The door to the bathroom clicked and Katniss stepped out in a pure-white silk chemise that grazed the floor. Her thick, licorice-colored hair framed her face in small waves, falling onto her shoulders gracefully.

Standing up, Peeta watched as she approached him, the familiar sway of her hips drawing him in and leaving him winded at the sight of her.

“Can you believe we’re finally here?” she asked softly.

“This isn’t real,” he breathed in wonderment. “I’m going to wake up tomorrow, alone in my garage—from the most beautiful dream of my life.”

Her hands went to the straps of her gown and Katniss pulled them gently off her shoulders, letting the rest of it fall to the soft, fur carpet beneath their feet. She stood before him naked, her olive skin glowing in the orange firelight.

“It’s real, Peeta,” Katniss told him, her lips brushing against his chin. He sighed, his mouth dropping open from the sensations she created within his body. “I’m your wife, and I am very real.” She took his hand to place it against her soft chest. “Touch me. Feel my heart beat—I’m here.”

He let out a choked gasp at her words. “I love you, Katniss.”

She looked up at him, tears in her own eyes. “I love you, too, Peeta.”

Their lips met in a slow, tender kiss—each of them tasting of the salt of their tears and the sweet happiness of their union.

It had been a long time coming; years of separation and pain had finally culminated in this.

Her hands slowly unbuckled his belt and she deftly undid the button of his waistband. Sliding the zipper down, he let his pants fall to the ground before kicking them away.

Katniss grinned. “A little eager, aren’t we?”

Peeta laughed. “We’ve had over ten years of foreplay—wouldn’t you be?”

She reached inside his boxer briefs and ran her hand along his hardened length. His eyes closed as she slipped the last bit of cloth off of his hips towards the rug. His heart pounded in anticipation, and when he felt the slow lick on the underside of his cock, he almost fell apart. His eyes opened to see her watching him—a small, satisfied smile on her peach lips.

They both knelt on the rug and her eyes met his nervously.

“I’m scared,” she whispered. “It really feels like my first time.”

“Me, too.” Peeta pulled her into his arms. “We can go slowly. We have all the time in the world.”

Katniss nodded and after a moment, she laid back, her eyes molten and beckoning.

Leaning down, Peeta took his time to explore her lips, tracing the shape of them with his own mouth.

Every sigh that escaped her mouth as he roamed her body would forever be imprinted in his mind.

He would always remember what made her laugh and what made her cry.

He entered her slowly, inch by inch, watching as she let out a small breathless moan as they joined for the first time. Her eyes opened to meet his as they began to move and she smiled up at him, happy tears escaping her eyes, before they both fell apart in frenzied ecstasy.

He would always know what made her crazy and what calmed her.

He would always know her, inside and out.

That had been his wedding vow to her.

And when he awoke in the morning—the sun rising against their bare skin, Peeta opened his eyes to see his sleeping wife in his arms, his hand tangled in the beautiful mess that was her hair.

Peeta almost wept at the sight of her—for he wasn’t alone anymore.

It hadn’t been a dream.

It was real.

* * *

 

I’m just going to write the notes in the epilogue… see you there.

Until then, JLaLa


	8. Epilogue: Freedom

Ahh, finishing up another story…

Thank you to Chelzie, my beta, for all her hard work!

The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.

Lazy

Epilogue: Freedom

**_Two Years Later…_ **

_The former Caribbean island of St. Lucia_

Peeta looked out at Katniss as she walked along the beach in front of their home. Rue and Prim flanked her side, the girls talking amongst themselves. His wife’s hands went to her prominent belly, caressing the baby inside of her. He knew that their little one was most likely reacting to Katniss’ movement along the sand.

There was a laugh and a rush of sunny hair came barreling towards the three.

It was Rue who ran forward and picked Lucas up to swing him around. The almost two-year-old was a ball of energy. He and Katniss were lucky that both Prim and Rue were just as energetic. Not to mention, their daughters adored their little brother.

Katniss became pregnant almost immediately after they were married. They weren’t too surprised, as he and his wife had tried daily—though most of the time, it had just been the heat of the moment.

With the little one coming, they knew they couldn’t stay in Haymitch’s home forever. They were a growing family and the girls were eager to leave Panem, forever haunted by Rory’s death. Prim could hardly sleep in the house, often waking them with screams about mine collapses and Rory’s ashen face. Haymitch had taken to sitting in the girl’s room to calm her down.

It was then that their foster father appealed to President Paylor, who granted them the chance to leave Panem. She informed the Mellarks about the island where her family had come from. It was a good distance away from Panem, yet close enough that they would still be able to come and go as they pleased.

With the enormous amount of money that somehow appeared in Peeta’s account, as well as the others’, following the death of Snow, Peeta had a modest home built along the shore for his family.

“That boy never tires, does he?” Peeta turned to see Haymitch coming out from the house. The man sat down on the porch bench as he looked out at Katniss and their children, a fond smile on his face. “I wonder where he got that from.”

“Maybe Katniss,” Peeta said as he sat down on the chair across from the man. “I don’t remember being that energetic.” He looked out at his family and his eyes went to Lucas’ bright smile. “Nor do I remember smiling as much as our boy does.”

“Well, he has much better parents,” Haymitch told him.

Peeta grinned at the man. “Thanks. That was actually really nice of you.”

Haymitch took a sip from the bottle that he had brought out with him.

“Well, your birthday is in two days,” the older man said with a wisp of a smile. “So, I guess I owe you a compliment.”

“Does that mean none of those presents on the table are for me?” Peeta asked with a mock-pout.

“That’s the burden you carry when you share a birthday with your son,” Haymitch declared.

Peeta guffawed and turned at the sound of Lucas’ giggles. The little boy rushed up the porch, his mother and sisters following behind, before running over to Haymitch.

Lucas climbed easily onto the man’s lap and Haymitch protectively encircled his arms around the boy.

“Papa, papa!” The grey-eyed boy greeted him before opening his closed hand to reveal a sand dollar. “Shell.”

“You find that yourself, son?” Haymitch asked and Lucas nodded.

“You missed the first thing that he had in his hands,” Katniss said as she sat next to their foster father, her hand caressing her stomach.

Motherhood suited Katniss. She glowed, never seemed uncomfortable, and was active throughout both of her pregnancies.

“What was it?” Peeta asked with a grin.

She turned to her husband, standing up easily, even in her seventh month. Going to him, Katniss sat on his lap and his arm wrapped around her waist. The girls took her spot, both sitting next to Haymitch.

“It was a sand crab,” Prim told them.

“But he dropped it when it started tickling his hands,” Rue added.

At twelve and thirteen, Prim and Rue had grown up into beautiful teenagers. At one point, Katniss remarked on how Prim looked like her mother. However, as time passed, Prim lost that weary look in her eyes. She had grown gracefully and her face had grown fuller with youth. Now Prim looked like a completely different person—she looked happy.

Rue had also grown exquisitely. She was athletic and was always up for helping Peeta with any chores that required a strong hand. The girl was also an avid climber, as she would often climb the trees around their home to gather any fruit that had sprouted.

“Haymitch, do we know when to expect Finnick and Annie?” Katniss asked.

The man shook his head. “They’re actually sailing over here—if you can believe that.”

Katniss snorted. “I’d pay good money to see the Golden Boy steer a ship.”

“Well, I’ll ask him to take me out and then rib him about marrying Annie,” Peeta told his wife.

Leaning down, Katniss tenderly pushed his hair back. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

Her mouth brushed over his quickly and Peeta felt the heat rise in his body. Reaching up, he touched the nape of her neck to undo the band around her hair before drawing her down for a kiss. His wife tasted of sunshine, the freshwater sea—and most of all, freedom.

Every day Peeta woke up, still in disbelief that he was married to the girl that he had loved since he was just a boy. That he had three wonderful children and another one on the way. That they lived in safety, protected and assured that they would continue to raise their children in love.

“Do you really do that in front of your children?” Haymitch called out as he adjusted a now sleepy Lucas in his arms.

The couple pulled away and Katniss buried her face against his shoulder.

“We’re used to it,” Prim told her foster father. “Actually, it’s kind of cute.”

“And, when it stops being cute,” Rue said with a smile. “We just go to another room.”

++++++

“UNCLE FINNICK IS HERE!” Haymitch chuckled as he watched his bellowing bronze-haired son rush up the sand towards the Mellark house. “COME GIVE ME A HUG!”

Prim, Rue, and Lucas all ran onto the sand, their laughter ringing through the air as they made their way to their Uncle. Behind Finnick was Annie, who was gently guiding Mags through the thick sand. The older woman met his eyes and Haymitch waved to the woman.

“It’s like being home again,” Katniss said as she joined him on the porch. “Peeta is just settling their boat into the dock.” She gave him a tired smile, as she had been dealing with an actively kicking baby. “I just wish that Effie was here.”

Haymitch put an arm around her. “Me, too.” Kissing the top of Katniss’ head, he smiled into her hair. “Effie would be damn proud of you. You’re a great mother.”

Katniss looked to him, tears in her eyes. “I try.”

“Whoa, Katniss!” They turned to see Gale emerging from behind the screen door of the house. “Give Peeta a break once in a while! You’re up to your eyeballs in children.” He grinned at the two. “Bet you thought you’d never see me on a beach, did you?”

“GALE!” Katniss rushed over to her foster brother and embraced him. “When did you get here?”

“Got to town about an hour ago and walked over,” Gale replied as they pulled apart. His eyes went to Haymitch. “Hey, Pop.”

Haymitch nodded at him, a smirk on his lips. “Selectman Hawthorne.” Gale went to him and Haymitch pulled the man into a hug. “It’s been too damn long.”

“It has been,” his foster son replied, his grey eyes playful. “It’s actually Mayor Hawthorne now.” The dark-haired man looked out to the beach. “Looks like our pretty boy is here.” He cupped his hands in front of his mouth to alert the group of his arrival. “HEY KIDS! YOUR FAVORITE UNCLE IS HERE!”

The group turned to look in their direction.

Finnick glared at his foster brother. “HEY, _I’M_ THEIR FAVORITE UNCLE!”

“This fight will go on forever,” Peeta said as he emerged from the door to see Gale running onto the sand.

It all happened at once.

The kids were torn between who to hug first. Lucas was on the verge of tears until Annie scooped him into her arms to introduce him to Mags. The little boy smiled at the older woman before reaching out to wrap his small arms around her neck.  Prim and Rue went to the women and gave them both hearty hugs.

Finnick and Gale approached one another, glares on their faces.

Finnick broke first, a laugh escaping his mouth and suddenly the two men were embracing.

“I will never understand men,” Katniss said. “As much experience as I had with them in the Capitol, what goes on in their heads is a complete mindfuck.”

“Language, Katniss,” Haymitch scolded playfully. “You’re a mother of four!”

“Ah—but that hasn’t stopped her,” Peeta said as he gazed as his wife. “And I wouldn’t have it any other fucking way.” He kissed Katniss gently. “Love you.”

“Love you back,” Katniss whispered against his lips.

Haymitch watched the couple, the ache in his chest heavy. Seeing them made him miss Effie more than ever. He could almost see her sitting on the porch, knitting some sort of little knick-knack for the new baby. She would’ve been an expert at showing Katniss how to change a diaper in the quickest way possible or how to soothe a child with an upset stomach.

When Lucas was born, they were all fools. Katniss and Peeta knew very little on how to put a diaper on. Haymitch had little experience, as most of the kids that had come to their home had been out of diapers. It took Johanna printing out a small instruction manual on how to diaper a child to get them all in sync.

Katniss also had to learn how to breastfeed. Getting Lucas to latch on was apparently difficult and according to Peeta, his wife’s nipples were sore—information he wished he never knew. Finally, Annie created a balm to help with the soreness and it also instinctually guided the baby to where it needed to feed.

Indeed, their family had slowly grown together.

For that, he was grateful.

There was a sudden bang of the screen door behind them and they all turned to find Johanna standing before them, a smirk on her sharp face—and a swollen belly in front of her.

Everyone went silent at the sight before them.

“Hey, guys,” she greeted easily. “Am I late for the party?”

++++++

“I’m really fine,” Johanna told them as Peeta helped her to sit on the couch. “This kid is indestructible.”

“We know you’re fine,” Katniss assured her foster sister. “But why didn’t you tell us?”

They had an eventful dinner. Everyone could not stop staring at Johanna, who was eating as if she hadn’t eaten in days. After a bowl of fresh coconut ice cream, made by Rue and Prim for dessert, the kids were sent up to bed so they could all have a discussion.

“I’ve talked to you on the phone every week, Johanna,” Haymitch said sternly as he sat on the solid coffee table in front of the _very_ pregnant woman. “This is something you share in-between your updates on new laws in the Capitol!”

Annie handed Johanna and Katniss a cup of her specially brewed tea. It was supposed to help with the backaches and keep the little ones comfortable so that they didn’t fuss too much in the expectant mothers’ bellies.

“Let’s all calm down,” Annie said as she joined Finnick on the loveseat. “First things first—where’s the father?”

“Gone,” Johanna said flatly. “I didn’t expect him to stay anyway.”

Gale, who was standing by the mantle of the fireplace, turned to her suddenly. “Who is he?”

Johanna’s eyes clouded for a moment as she met Gale’s hurt stare. “He doesn’t matter anyway.”

In response, Gale scowled before walking out onto the back porch.

Only then did a small semblance of emotion come over Johanna’s slightly pale face. “I really messed up…”

Quietly, Mags approached and knelt in front of Johanna. Feeling along her stomach, she gave Johanna a small smile before holding up the two fingers.

Johanna swallowed slowly, tears in her dark eyes. “How did you guess?”

“What?” Haymitch asked in curiosity.

“Two weeks,” the expectant mother said in a tight voice. “I’m due in two weeks.”

++++++

“This is insane,” Katniss said as they got into their bed. “Johanna is going to be a mother.”

“All that time she spent bugging you about wanting nothing but babies… it is definitely surprising,” Peeta intoned. “But it must be scary, too.”

He covered Katniss with their light quilt before settling back on his own pillow. His wife lay back before placing her head on his chest. Stretching his arm out, he pulled the string of the lamp on his side table before looking to her.

In the darkness, the room was considerably cooler. Peeta had designed the house himself, installing enough ventilation to keep them comfortable through every season. He hadn’t realized how much of his artistic talent he still had in him until he drew out the plans and showed them to the family.

Johanna had offered to commission wood from District 7, while Gale sent men who were skilled in construction from his own district. A lot of the surviving miners were still looking for work after the cave-in and Peeta had been happy to provide them with it.

It took three months, but the end result was a home for his new bride.

“I’m sure it’s scary for her. I mean, I don’t know what I would do without you,” Katniss said quietly. “It means so much to have you here—to let you feel him or her moving inside me.” His hand went to caress her swollen stomach. “To hold your hand when I bring our child into the world—she’s not going to have that.”

“She’ll have us,” Peeta offered. “Let her stay and have the baby here. Hold her hand—guide her. Because you already know how to be a great mother, you’ve been taking care of everyone longer than you’ve known. And Johanna will need your help more than she’s willing to admit.”

“Johanna needing me…” Katniss laughed quietly. “…what a trip.”

“Don’t be so surprised, Katniss,” he responded. His eyes met hers, his gaze tender. “I need you. I’ll always need you.”

“This was supposed to be an uncomplicated weekend,” she said. “You and our son are supposed to be celebrating your birthdays—but it’s turned into a circus.”

“You miss it though,” Peeta told her. “Those loud days at Effie and Haymitch’s—Annie banging pots around the kitchen, Finnick groaning after eating something that didn’t go exactly as planned, Gale and Haymitch playing a game of chess and taunting each other, and Johanna taking apart something that she wasn’t supposed to. Effie softly humming as she sewed one of her old dresses for one of you girls to wear…”

“And where were we?” Katniss asked.

“Out on the porch, looking up at the stars,” he whispered in her ear. “Looking out for better days, looking towards our future, looking to us—here in our bed, with our second baby under our hands.”

He could feel her falling asleep—the effects of Annie’s tea working swiftly.

Kissing her temple, Peeta closed his eyes. “Sleep now.”

She nodded tiredly, her lips briefly brushing over his.

“It’s midnight. Happy Birthday, sweetheart.”

++++++

“Can’t sleep?”

Johanna turned to look at Haymitch from where she sat on the porch bench. Nodding, she turned to look back at the dark ocean, the moon standing proudly above the crystalline sea.

Draping a blanket on her lap, he joined her to look out at the view. “It’s beautiful out here—so much clearer than back home.”

The expectant mother made no reply, her hand lovingly caressing her stomach. It was the first time that he had seen Johanna look so soft and something inside him caught at the sight. It really was a lovely thing to see.

“I’m not going to tell you who he is,” Johanna began. “I barely knew him—and it was only once.” She swiped at her eyes quickly. “I wanted to tell you, but I could hardly believe it myself. I denied it for a while, ignoring the morning sickness and the mood swings. Also, the weird sharpness of my senses. I once followed a guy because he smelled similar to you—and it gave me comfort.”

Haymitch laughed gruffly. “What do I smell like exactly?”

“Bourbon, hardwood… home.” She sighed to herself. “I’m going to be a screwy mother. I can only imagine what Effie would think of me.”

“She would be confident that you could rise to the challenge,” Haymitch assured her.

Johanna’s head tiredly fell onto his shoulder. “And what do you think?”

“I _know_ you will rise to the occasion,” he promised. “And when this baby comes, you will love him or her wholeheartedly—more than anything or anyone else, more than yourself.”

“I don’t know,” Johanna said with a laugh. “I’m pretty selfish. The man—I wanted him for selfish reasons. He reminded me of someone I knew I couldn’t have.”

“Oh yeah?” Haymitch’s eyes went to the side of the house where he knew his dark-haired son slept in the small den of the Mellark home. “I don’t think Gale ever forgot your little tryst. I think he might be half in love with you already—and I think he’ll love your child as his own.”

Johanna nodded, deep in thought. She seemed to sag under his words and he placed an arm around her to keep her from falling apart.

“Chin up,” he told her. “I’m no optimist, but you’ll be alright in the end with whatever or whomever you choose.”

“You’re right,” she agreed after a long, slow breath. “One day at a time.”

After a while, the lull of the ocean caused his eyelids to grow heavy and Haymitch could feel Johanna beginning to fall asleep, too.

It was just as his eyes shut fully that he heard Johanna’s sad whisper.

“It’s not him.”

++++++

_“Happy Birthday, dear Peeta and Lucas…Happy Birthday to you...”_

Peeta sat with Lucas in his lap, a cake with one bright candle on it in front of them. He kissed the curls on top of his son’s head.

“Blow out the candle, son,” Peeta urged the two-year-old with a proud smile. His eyes went to Katniss, who was taking pictures with Effie’s old camera. It was a wonder that the thing still worked, but Haymitch had taken good care of it. “You can do it!”

Excitedly, Lucas blew a raspberry at the candle—it was effective and the small flame was quickly extinguished. The little boy clapped along with his family, proud of his accomplishment.

“Good job, baby!” Katniss cheered as she sat next to them.

“Mama,” Prim said as she took the candle from the center of the chocolate cake that Annie had made. “Are we really going to eat a cake that has toddler spit all over it?” Despite her protest, the teenager reached over to kiss her little brother on the head.

“Well, I enjoy baby drool cake,” Rue added as she placed plates on the table.

Annie began to slice the cake, serving the birthday boys first, followed by the expectant mothers. After everyone got a piece, they all settled around the table to enjoy the cake that their talented foster sister had made with the help of Mags.

“This is one fine piece of cake,” Haymitch declared and gave Annie a smile. “It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten like this.”

“You need to visit more,” Annie urged in a gentle voice. “Finnick and I miss you. So does Mags.” The mute woman nodded in agreement.

“I promise that I’ll make it over soon,” the man responded seriously.

Finnick and Annie looked at one another, a smile gracing both their faces before they looked to their foster father.

“Maybe you should come up next spring,” Finnick said. “Since Annie and I are getting married.”

Another surprised silence filled the room.

“I would need you to walk me down the aisle,” Annie said as she took Haymitch’s hand.

“And we’ll need some bridesmaids and groomsmen,” Finnick added excitedly.

“Well, I hope you don’t mind that your bridesmaids will probably be breastfeeding,” Johanna suddenly told them, a half-smile on her face.

“And your flower girls are far from little,” Peeta said as he nodded over to Prim and Rue, who were being fed pieces of cake from Lucas.

“Oh, and your ring bearer will probably eat the rings,” Gale added from where he sat next to Johanna.

“Gale—you know that I would never let you near the rings!” Finnick retorted.

In response, his foster brother sent him a quick finger before Prim and Rue could see.

They did anyway.

“I guess it’s settled then,” Haymitch said as he got up to hug the couple. “We’re going to District 4 next spring.” He looked over at Mags, who was wiping her eyes in happiness. “Can I bunk at your place, lovely lady?” The older woman nodded, her eyes joyful at the thought of the upcoming wedding.

They all settled back, grins on their faces.

“So,” Annie started after a moment. She looked over at Katniss and Peeta, who were showing Lucas how to balance a piece of cake on his fork. “Have you chosen a name for the baby?”

The couple looked at one another before nodding.

“We have,” Katniss said slowly.

“So what are you going to name the baby if it’s a boy?” Johanna asked in curiosity. She grimaced, her hand going to her lower back. Mags, who sat close by, brought her hand over to massage the area for her and Johanna smiled gratefully.

“Rory,” Peeta responded.

“It’s okay,” Prim said quietly to everyone. Rue put an arm around her sister. “It was my suggestion.”

“I think it’s a great name,” Gale told his little sister, his slate eyes solemn.

Haymitch nodded in agreement. “It is definitely a good, strong name. What about if you have a girl?”

Katniss smiled benignly, her hands on her stomach. “Rory.”

Johanna snorted. “I guess you weren’t into looking at any baby books for names.” She shifted in her seat. “You’re a lot farther ahead than I am. I have no idea what to name him or her.”

“You’ll know when you see your baby’s face,” Katniss assured her.

Johanna suddenly gasped and Mags sprang up from her seat. She looked over to Annie, her fingers speaking rapidly.

“OH CRAP!” Annie jumped up and turned to her foster sister. “Johanna, why didn’t you say anything?”

Johanna looked to Mags. “For someone who can’t speak—you have an awfully big mouth!” Mags let out a silent laugh before reaching over to feel at Johanna’s hardened stomach.

“What the hell is going on?” Gale asked anxiously.

“I’m having a baby,” Johanna responded before she let out a quick exhale.

“And sooner than we all thought,” Annie said as she signed back to Mags to get more information. “Johanna has been having contractions since she got here.”

Letting out a slow exhale, the woman in labor gave them a pained smile. “Didn’t want to ruin the party…”

Gale went to Johanna, easily scooping her up from her seat.

“I’m pretty sure that your water breaking all over the presents would’ve ended the party anyhow,” he told her. Gale turned to everyone. “Now can anyone tell me where I can set down the soon-to-be-mother?”

++++++

_Three Hours Later…_

“Is she supposed to screaming like that?” Finnick asked anxiously.

“Yes,” Peeta told him assuredly as another yell ripped through the air. “Katniss sounded exactly like that.”

“But Katniss delivered Lucas using a Capitol doctor,” Gale argued as he paced the living room. “How much can we trust that Mags, Annie, and Katniss know what they’re doing?”

Peeta bristled defensively at Gale’s words. “There’s nothing we can do about it now.”

“Settle down,” Haymitch suddenly said. He felt his own stomach turn with anxiety each time Johanna let out a scream. “I’m going to check and see if they need anything.”

Going to the door of the small guest room situated between the kitchen and the living room, Haymitch tentatively knocked on the door.

The door opened and Haymitch was yanked into the room. Katniss shut it quickly behind him and then went back to Johanna’s side.

“How’s it going?” he asked awkwardly.

Johanna gave a weak smile from where she sat in the bed, hair sweaty and face scarlet. “Just contracting away—and yourself?”

“Mags says that the baby was breech,” Annie informed him from where she sat in front of Johanna along with Mags. “That’s why she’s been struggling for so long. Now that it’s turned the right way, we need to get him or her out soon.”

Katniss wiped the sweat off of her sister’s forehead. “We know you’re tired, Johanna—but you have to push.”

“I-I-I can’t,” Johanna said in a sob-filled voice. “Just yank it out and don’t worry about me.”

“Stop with that talk,” Haymitch intoned harshly as he sat next to Johanna. “You’re going to do this.”

“No, I’ll be a bad mother,” she responded. “I don’t know how to love properly. I can’t even love the people that I’m supposed to…” Johanna let out a long pained moan. “…this child can’t learn anything from me but how to be angry and selfish…and self-deprecating.”

Haymitch shook his head, putting an arm around her and supporting her back. “You’re going to be a good mother. You don’t realize that you have a great capacity to love inside you.”

“Effie always told me that,” Johanna said in a tired voice and she began to cry. “She would hate me for being this way…”

“No,” Katniss intoned. “Effie would have been proud that you took such good care of yourself and your baby.” She looked to Annie, who nodded. “Now go on—PUSH!”

Haymitch held his breath, watching as Johanna bore down, her chin on her chest.

Mags looked up at him and mouthed the word, ‘Head’.

“Head is out, sweetheart,” he informed her.

Johanna nodded, tears escaping her dark eyes. “I know…I can feel it.” Inhaling once more, she began to push. “I’m really getting my tubes tied after….”

She could not finish because her words were interrupted by the shrill cries of her child.

“Boy,” Annie declared as she held Johanna’s son in her arms, tears in her eyes. “A little boy.”

Katniss kissed Johanna’s temple. “You did great. I’m so proud of you.”

Mags approached them, placing a hand on Johanna’s cheek before kissing her forehead.

“Where is he?” Johanna suddenly asked through her exhaustion.

Annie went to a now-standing Haymitch to place the wrapped little one in his arms.

Johanna’s son was dark-haired and olive-skinned from what he could gauge. The baby boy looked up as Haymitch began to walk over to Johanna, peering up at the man suspiciously through dark eyes—his mother’s eyes.

“You have every right to be suspicious,” Haymitch said, a wet chuckle escaping his lips. “We’re all a little crazy.” Carefully placing the newborn in his mother’s awaiting arms, he stepped back to watch the two meet.

“Hello,” Johanna greeted the baby softly. “So you’re the one who’s been bugging me to drink all that orange juice…” She smiled down at the bundle and an arm sprung up from the blanket. “…I know, I know. It was good for me. You’ve been kind of pushy, even in the womb. So I know you’re definitely mine.”

Bending her head down, Johanna kissed her son’s forehead.

“If you’re looking for your father, you’re not going to find him,” she told the baby in a soft, sad tone. “It’s okay. I’ll be both for you. And you have a bunch of Aunts and Uncles who will probably spoil you since I spoil their children.” Johanna looked over at Mags, a gentle smile on her lips. “And you’ll have Mags, who knew you were coming before I did.” Her eyes went to Haymitch. “And you’ll have Haymitch, who is ten times the man that your father was anyway. You’ll have a lot of good men in your life and you’ll never want for your Daddy.” She cradled the baby closer to her chest. “I’m going to try my damned hardest to be the Mommy you deserve.”

“What are you going to name him?” Katniss asked through her tears.

Johanna peered down at the baby and her face crumbled as she began to sob. “You look just like him… exactly like him…”

Haymitch sat down next to her as Katniss rubbed her sister’s shoulders.

“Who?” Haymitch asked in concern.

“Josh,” Johanna whispered. “He looks like Josh—my brother.” She began to wail, her sobs harsh on her still weak body. “I remember now. I remember him. He was beautiful—just like my son.”

“It’s a beautiful name,” Annie said quietly from where she sat on the bed.

“It’s his name.” Johanna looked down at the now-sleeping baby. “Katniss was right. The moment I looked at him, I already knew. He is my Josh.”

++++++

“Hey,” Katniss greeted as she down. “How it’s going?”

“Another baby,” Haymitch mused as he looked over to where the rest of the group gathered over to see Johanna and Josh. “Every time I open my eyes, something changes.”

The newborn was being held quite expertly by Peeta, Haymitch had to admit. The man was now a full-fledged expert on child rearing. Finnick and Annie sat on the end of the bed, both watching and he could see the longing in their eyes. He wouldn’t be surprised if the two were expecting before the wedding.

Gale sat by Johanna’s side, anxiously looking over her exhausted, beaming form. Every once in a while, he wiped her sweaty forehead to keep her from being overwhelmed by the heat of the day. Prim and Rue sat on the opposite side to peer at the newest addition, with Lucas sitting by his father in wonder.

“Can we talk outside?” Katniss suddenly asked.

Intrigued by her sudden seriousness, Haymitch followed her out the door and onto the front porch.

Sitting on the steps, he finally turned to her. “What’s going on?”

“I just wanted to know if you’ve noticed anything strange about Johanna,” she said to him.

Haymitch shook his head. “Other than coming here pregnant? And not telling us who the father is? No, she’s seems like the same snarky woman that I’ve always known.”

“Has she mentioned anything about the father?” Katniss continued as she looked out at the ocean.

He thought for a moment. “Well, she said that it was only once.” Then something else floated out into his mind from his moonlight talk with Johanna. “And, that it was only because he reminded her of someone that she couldn’t have…”

“I figured,” Katniss mused, a sad smile on her peach lips. “Have you ever noticed how Johanna looks at you?”

“No, how does she look at me?”

“Like you’re invincible.” Haymitch turned to her in shock. “And you’re so focused on making sure that we’re all okay that you never noticed.”

His mouth went dry at her words. How could he not notice that Johanna had harbored any sort of feelings for him other than fatherly ones? Haymitch had raised her and watched her grow into a strong, independent woman.

But she had called more than the others—weekly. Johanna would talk about laws, but she would linger to ask about his life in their home. What was he doing? Did he miss them?

What he never noticed was that she wanted to know if he missed _her_.

“I’m really stupid.” Haymitch looked out anxiously. “How could I not see it?”

“It would’ve been hard to detect over the phone,” Katniss replied as she squeezed his shoulder. “I only noticed while she was in labor. She looks at you like you’re the moon and the stars.”

“Marriage and motherhood has made you a wise woman, Katniss Mellark,” he told her.

“Be careful with her, Haymitch,” Katniss warned. Her cheeks flooded with color. “Unless there’s any reason to give her hope…”

His own face had turned warmer against the glaring sun.

“I don’t know if I could ever think of anyone the way I thought about Effie,” he mused. “She was my moon and stars.”

“Understood,” Katniss said with a final nod. “Now help me up—I need to pee. Rory is jumping on my bladder.”

++++++

“You look a lot better,” Haymitch said as he entered Johanna’s room. “I just saw Gale leave. What were you two talking about?”

Johanna cradled her son in her arms, a fresh nightgown on, and a gentle smile on her face. Between Katniss, Annie, and Mags, the women had been able to help the new mother shower and change. Peeta, Finnick, and Gale had taken care of Josh while he had cooked the children a simple supper.

Now the new mother sat up in bed, adjusting her son’s cap, and sparkling at him.

How had he not noticed?

Effie had always told him that he could be inept.

“He was asking me to come to District 12,” she told him. “Gale wants me to check out all the changes he’s implemented since becoming Mayor.” Johanna looked to him, her chocolate eyes penetrating. “Should I go?”

Haymitch gave her a sad smile. “You should go. Gale will take care of you—better than anyone else could.”

Johanna digested his words easily and though her eyes filled with tears, she gave him a nod that she was okay.

“I tried not to,” she burst out, a small sob escaping her mouth. “I really did…” Johanna looked down at Josh, rocking his sleeping form. “But he happened—and I had to stop lying to myself.”

Gently, Haymitch took Josh from her embrace. The little one didn’t stir. In fact, Josh seemed perfectly content to be safe, warm, and loved. How easy it was for children to give and receive love.

It was never so easy for adults.

“Listen, sweetheart,” Haymitch began as he met her broken eyes. “It will pass. I’m too old and weary for someone as lovely as you. Your boy needs a father who’s going to be able to run around with him. And you need someone who’s going to love you wholeheartedly.”

“And that could never be you?” Johanna questioned.

Haymitch shook his head before his eyes fell to Josh. That longing welled up in him and he took a deep breath to quell his own quiet urges. He had stopped seeing her as a little girl a long time ago, but his heart could not let go of the past.

It just wasn’t in him.

She deserved better.

“Josh has Gale’s coloring,” he told her. “In a few years, Josh won’t even see him as his Uncle…”

“I don’t want to use him,” Johanna said firmly. “He’s had enough of that.”

“You care enough to spare his feelings,” Haymitch concluded and she blushed at his words. “Let that care grow into something else. In time it might and if it doesn’t—then come back to me. We’ll discuss your future then.”

Johanna looked to him, hastily wiping her eyes before giving him a smile. “Alright.”

Josh let out a plaintive wail and Johanna reached out to take him from Haymitch.

As they made the transfer, Haymitch met her eyes and before he could protest, Johanna leaned forward to brush her lips quickly over his.

The small wisp of a kiss buzzed against his skin.

“I just wanted to see what it was like,” she told him before lying back with Josh in her arms.

++++++

_Three Days Later…_

Annie, Finnick, and Mags were the first to leave. They had a busy season ahead of them and Finnick needed to return so that he could join the other fisherman out in District 4. Annie and Mags had taken to brewing their own serums for the locals to help with everyday ailments.

“I’ll see you for the wedding,” Haymitch said as he embraced Annie. The small woman gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Looking forward to giving you away.” He looked over at Finnick, who was heading towards them. “Though I’m pretty sure you already belong to Finnick in some way.”

“We’ll miss you,” Annie said in a quiet voice. “I hate that we’re all so far apart.”

“You could always stay with us,” Finnick offered with a jaunty grin. “I wouldn’t mind a shipmate.”

“I get seasick,” Haymitch retorted before giving the man a hug.

Mags approached him and placed her hand over his heart, her own way of showing her affection.

“Take care of them,” he said in a sad voice. “And yourself.”

The woman nodded, before mouthing, ‘ _You, too._ ’

++++++

Gale, Johanna, and Josh were next.

“I have a house set up,” Gale informed his foster father. “I can make a crib and Johanna will have a bassinet in her room. They’ll never want for anything as long as they’re with me.”

Haymitch gave him a smile, hugging the strong man in front of him.

His foster son looked at him, worry in his eyes. “Do you think I have a chance?” His gaze drifted over to Johanna, who was bundling her son and talking to Katniss.

“Give it time,” Haymitch advised. “She’s got her own ways—and you have to respect that.”

Gale nodded, his mouth set in contemplation. “Sometimes I’m not sure if I’ll ever get the girl.” He gave Haymitch a rueful smile.

Haymitch put an arm around him as they walked to the mother and son. “Just be patient.”

“Someone wants to say goodbye,” Johanna said as she placed Josh in Haymitch’s arms.

He tickled the baby’s chin and a small smile grew on his small lips.

“You be a good boy,” Haymitch said to the little one, who peered up at him slightly. “I know I’m just an old man, but I’ve been told I give pretty good advice.”

Johanna approached him, a careful smile on her face. “You’re far from old.” She looked between Haymitch and her son before meeting his eyes. “Don’t stop calling, okay?”

“Of course not,” he assured her before holding out his free arm to her. “Come here.”

Johanna went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist as her head went to his chest.

“Don’t look back,” he whispered against her. “Just look ahead. There is much better for you and Josh.” Haymitch looked over to where Gale watched Johanna clinging to him. “Just open your eyes.”

“I know,” she told him gruffly. “I need time.”

“The right person will give it to you,” Haymitch assured the woman.

Pulling away, Johanna took her son from his arms before giving him a shaky smile. “Stay out of trouble, Haymitch.”

He laughed, happy to see the little bit of her former self coming through.

“You too, Johanna.”

++++++

After tucking their children in, Katniss and Peeta headed downstairs to check on their foster father.

With the departure of Gale, Johanna, and Josh yesterday, and Annie, Finnick and Mags the day before, the house was a lot quieter.

“You’re right,” Katniss told her husband. “I do miss the loudness of the family.”

“That’s alright,” Peeta replied. He kissed her gently and placed a hand on her rounded stomach. “It’ll be noisy soon enough.”

“Four,” she said quietly as she placed her hand over his. “You think we’ll be okay?”

Her husband nodded assuredly. “If Effie and Haymitch could handle it, so can we.” He looked around at the empty living room. “Where’s Haymitch?”

Going to one of the front windows, Katniss pointed to where Haymitch stood on the porch, looking up at the moon.

She realized after a moment of hearing his quiet mumblings that he was talking to the large orb in front him.

 Briefly, she heard him say, ‘Effie’, as he spoke.

Smiling to herself, Katniss closed the curtains to give him privacy and then turned to Peeta.

“He’s fine,” she told him. “Let’s go to bed. I’m expecting Lucas to be waking us around two tonight.”

“And the girls have school in the morning,” Peeta added as he took her hand. “Seems like we’re a lot busier than we thought—when will we have time for each other?”

Katniss smiled, pulling him up the stairs. “Well… that’s why I’m taking you to bed now.”

Peeta chuckled before following his wife to their room.

++++++

_The following Spring…_

On the old entryway table stood a series of photographs—a small photo of Katniss and Peeta’s ceremony, school photos of Rory, Rue, and Prim, a picture of a newborn Lucas in Haymitch’s arms—all slightly dusty.

They were followed by another set of newer photographs—a picture of a teenage Rue and Prim grinning at the camera, Lucas walking his first steps, one of Annie and Mags in front of their apothecary shop, Finnick on a fishing boat, Gale, Johanna, and a three-month-old Josh in District 12.

The last photo was an old one—Effie and the children, from the tallest to the smallest, each smile bigger than the other.

His wife’s smile had always been the brightest.

“Haymitch?”

He looked up to see Katniss walking over to him, a bundle of dark hair and blue eyes in her arms. “You ready to go?”

Nodding, Haymitch held up his old travel bag. “Ready and packed.”

Katniss held out her daughter to him. “She’s fussing—I think she wants you.”

“Well, you know how I adore this little one,” he replied before reaching out to the six-month old girl. “Rory Euphemia Mellark… you’re a sweet one.” Haymitch looked to the girl’s mother. “God, what kind of name did you give her?”

“One that she’ll learn to love,” Katniss retorted. “And I’m sure you’ll tell her all about her namesakes when she’s older.”

The front door opened and Peeta peeked in, a smile on his face. “Lucas is strapped into his car seat and the girls are already falling asleep. We should get going. It’s a long drive to District 4.”

“Well, we all can’t all be like Johanna and fly in from the Capitol,” Katniss said. “How she raises Josh there is beyond me…”

“She wasn’t the first one to get there though,” Peeta informed his wife as he picked up Haymitch’s bag. “Gale’s already there and playing shipmate to Finnick’s captain.”

The couple walked out the door as they talked about their foster brothers’ exploits out at sea.

Haymitch turned to Rory. The little girl smiled at him, her blue eyes reminding him of Effie’s.

“I guess it’s just you and me now,” he told her and Rory patted his cheeks. “Do you want me to tell you how you got your names?” The pretty baby clapped in response and a smile rose from Haymitch’s lips.

Together, the two went to the open door, closing it behind them as they left the rickety Abernathy home.

“Well, first I’ll have to tell you about Effie…”

* * *

 

Euphemia is where the name Effie is derived from. It means ‘well-spoken’.

I almost want to say that Rory’s actual name is short for Lorelai, but in my head, it isn’t.

It’s actually short for Aurora, because appropriately enough, Rory ended up being born at dawn, which is what the word means in Latin.

Lucas, if you don’t remember, was Katniss’ father’s name and it had been decided long ago that she and Peeta would name their first son after him. His middle name is Haymitch, by the way.

Josh, short for Joshua, means ‘savior’. Johanna mentioned that she had forgotten her brother’s name—only remembering that she had been screaming it as she watched her family home burn down with him in it. Only when Josh is born does it come back to her. In a lot of ways, I think Josh did save Johanna from herself.

I’m sure there are more questions. How did Annie and Finnick’s wedding go? Do they have children? What happened between Gale and Johanna in District 12? Why does she live in the Capitol now? Does anything actually happen with Haymitch and Johanna? Also, do Katniss and Peeta have _more_ children?

I’d be happy to answer those through Tumblr or even a PM. Any requests are welcomed.

Honestly, I think this story has some of my best prose—and I loved writing it.

Thank you for reading.

-JLaLa


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